Operation Phoenix
by queerfemme
Summary: People usually write about Henry teaming up with Emma to woo Regina. This story is the other way around! What if Regina told Henry that she never intended the "love" potion in Welcome to Storybrooke for him? What if it had been for Emma? Beginning set during Welcome to Storybrooke. Swan Queen. Rated M for sexyfuntimes!
1. Chapter 1

Regina stared into her son's desperate, defiant eyes: her color, her defiance, but Emma's desperation, Emma's passion. The need to not be abandoned. To be loved.

She couldn't tell him. How could he understand? He was obsessed with that fool's story of the prince rescuing the princess, the hero "getting" the girl (as though love could be won).

Yet... didn't he think Emma a hero? But she, Regina, certainly is no girl...

Yet he understood so well what magic had done to her...

And anyway, the boy would know if she was lying to him. She might as well tell him the truth. Right?

Her hands trembled where they braced her upper body on her thighs, bending down so she could look into his face, on his level. She knew he heard her breath shake as it rattled down into her lungs, and she told herself this was good: if her words to him were going to be honest - _surely she owed him that much_ - then damned if she wouldn't let her body language be open, as well.

For his part, Henry stared into his mother's eyes, glazed with nervous tears, his own ragged breathing - he'd tried to be a fearless hero, but the dynamite had terrified him, and a part of him had been relieved when Regina poofed it into oblivion - mixing with hers. He watched the conflict surge through her eyes, the devastatingly subtle inward twitch of her eyebrows and momentary pursing of full lips as she considered him.

There was almost a desperation in her demeanor, and he knew her well enough - better than anyone, maybe - to know that she was making rapid calculations in her head; he sensed that she was weighing her entire history, their relationship, her reliance on vengeance to protect her from unspeakable loneliness, rage at her mother, guilt, and grief, in a complex balance, the entirety of which he couldn't see, but could feel, hanging in the air between them.

He waited, knowing that if he interrupted her process, it would scare her, frighten her away like the softly outstretched hand he sometimes offered baby rabbits in this very forest.

She thought, agonizingly, of Cora; the woman who needed to be avenged; the woman who had given and taken everything; who had spent her lifetime pretending to a love she had never been able to feel for Regina. Until that sanctimonious little wench manipulated her into murdering her.

_But hadn't it been nice to really feel love from her in those last moments?_ an irritating voice inside her asked. _A weird kind of gift?_ She shut it off. The voice sounded, inexplicably, like the boy's other mother. Which brought her back to the present moment. Cora had never been honest with Regina. She mustn't continue to do the same to Henry. She took another deep, shaking breath.

"I never planned to use that potion on you, Henry." Her voice was so low she wasn't sure if he heard her at first, but when his brow furrowed deeply, she knew that he had. She held up a trembling hand as he opened his mouth. He closed it.

Her eyes bore into his as she forced herself into mayor mode: this was the only way she was going to be able to force the next humiliating words out of her throat.

"I was going to put Ms. Swan under that spell, Henry."

A dead silence filled the woods as Henry merely blinked, his silence demanding further explanation. Regina's eyes shifted once to each side as though worried about being overheard in the middle of the forest. And, well, she was.

"If she thought she loved me, she would forgive me for killing her mother, and if she forgave me, you would, too. And it would be genuine, and we could be a real family again, Henry."

He stared at her for a few seconds, during which she focused only on the sound of his even breathing.

"A real family... with Emma." He stated his question and her eyes shot downward, humiliated. She nodded.

Though she couldn't see it, his eyes glistened with empathy. And hope. When he spoke, his voice was laden with a gentleness that almost tore Regina's heart in pieces. Again._ Who am I to deserve such love?_

"But it wouldn't be real from Emma, Mom." She nodded again, eyes still occupied with their feet. When she forced herself to raise them to meet his - which he seemed to be waiting for - he tilted his head in growing understanding: her eyes were glowing with tears and the grief of hopelessness.

"And you... you want Emma to love you," Henry guided. "Because... you want to win, or because you want to be happy?"

To his surprise, Regina laughed softly at the child's words. "I always thought they were the same thing," she murmured, her voice coated with tears, speaking almost more to herself than to her child. She shook her head as though forcing water out of her ears.

"She'll never love me, Henry. You didn't see the hate in her eyes when she thought I killed Dr. Hopper. Even now that she knows I didn't, there's that Neal character, and even if... he weren't here now, she's convinced that I was genuinely on Cora's side."

"And were you?" His question was pointed, a slight crease in his forehead, but not accusatory.

Her eyes were defeated as she answered him. "I just wanted you back. I wanted you, I wanted her love, but I had my own limits. I was never going to kill Ms. - _Emma_ - or let my mother kill her. But I needed to go along with her as long as I could, Henry: she was the most dangerous when she was trying to make me lover her."

"Like you," he whispered, but took her hand to soften the blow. "It wasn't hatred you saw, Mom. I... I think it was heartbreak. Emma wanted to believe the best in you. After we found out Archie was alive, she cried so much when she thought I was sleeping, and sometimes I heard her mutter that she was sorry, over and over and over again. And she's not in love with Neal, even though she thinks he should be able to know me since she also got to know me. And, I think she's only really angry at you because she's scared you'll never forgive her, and she's scared and angry that you changed back even after she had so much faith in you. I think she just feels really betrayed, Mom. I don't think she hates you, even though she's really angry."

Regina did her best not to scoff. "_She_ feels betrayed? I didn't kill the Cric - Dr. Hopper, and she - "

"But don't you see? You care what she thinks. Mom, do you... do you..._ love_ Emma?"

Regina grimaced her tear-stained answer. "I don't know how to love very well," she told him again, softly.

Henry shook his head solemnly. "I think you do. I think you just don't know how to trust very well. But trust _me_: we're going to get Emma to believe in you again. She can love you _without_ a potion, Mom."

Regina took her turn to shake her head, her mouth tightening with tears. "But I'm - "

"Not the Evil Queen anymore, but she's still the Savior. You both need saving, Mom. Let me help you learn to love each other. _That's_ how we can be a family, not with evil potions."

Her child's eyes shone with the hope she'd only watched from a distance for the past year, only observed when he looked at Emma. His little hand wrapped around hers as best her could and for a moment, he was a toddler again and their love was almost perfect. _Could it be perfect now?_ The sincerity in his eyes made her want to believe it. Hope began creeping into her heart. Henry offered her a small smile.

Her hope was wrenched out of her chest, ripping a bloodied hole in her heart, however, when she heard the unrestrained rage in the voice of Emma Swan, hatred coloring every syllable of her name.

"Regina, get away from my son!"


	2. Chapter 2

_Her hope was wrenched out of her chest, ripping a bloodied hole in her heart, however, when she heard the unrestrained rage in the voice of Emma Swan, hatred coloring every syllable of her name._

_"Regina, get away from my son!"_

Her lip curled as she spun in front of Henry; seeing Neal at Emma's side called a fireball into Regina's open palm, feeling yet again the keen pain that inevitably follows the weakness of hope. It was rage, not hope, that made her strong. Henry was kind, but wrong.

She searched Emma's fiery eyes and heard Henry's voice - "Mom!" - behind her, drawing comfort and satisfaction from knowing that he was talking to her this time, not the blonde, not the woman whose existence threatened to ruin everything.

_Love is weakness, Regina_.

Henry reached out and touched her back. _But what if it's strength?_

The fireball in her hand dimmed, and for a moment - just a moment - she thought she detected the heartbreak, expertly disguised as hatred, that Henry had said was in Emma's eyes.

She had been honest with her son, and he hadn't been disgusted by the idea of the Evil Queen and the Savior loving one another. He had seemed into it, in fact. And maybe honesty was a drug, as vengeance was: maybe now that she knew what Henry's trust, confidence, comfort, and support felt like - even and especially now that he knew for certain who she really was - maybe she could never settle for anything less, anything manufactured, anything manipulated.

She held up the curse scroll in her non-flaming hand, positioning it immediately above the inferno.

"No need for your gun, Charming." She forced her voice into the light disdain of a confident Queen on the cusp of victory. She ignored Emma. She had to. _What if Henry was wrong?_

"You can run along and tell your undoubtedly depressed little wide that I won't be giving her the relief of death: my family will love me despite her drawing breath, bot because she's stopped." Henry noted her use of the term "my family" instead of "my son" and resisted smiling. He didn't want Emma to catch on before it was time. He knew anything less than a perfect plan would humiliate and anger his adoptive mother, and he wanted to do this right.

Regina dropped the curse into the flame and felt its disintegration shudder throughout her bloodstream, the origin of the fire that was curling the paper into nothingness. She ignored the pain as she had ignored the agony of the fairy magic she had absorbed in this very spot, relatively recently. She locked her eyes on Emma's shocked face as the curse burned, inadvertently turning the fire to a hotter blue as she searched the blonde's face for any traces of... anything positive. Usually so gifted at reading people, she found herself unsettlingly confused by the younger woman's enraged and shocked uncertainty.

"C'mon, Henry," the blonde called, her eyes refusing to turn away from Regina's. She extended a hand for their son.

The older woman's heart sank, so hard, so fast, that she found herself almost shocked that the entire forest hadn't trembled with its weight impacting and shattering on the ground. A brief moment of transparency, of comradery, of love, between mother and child. Had she really been expecting anything else? What a fool she was. He probably had only said all those things to manipulate her into destroying the scroll.

_He is NOT your mother_, a gently stern voice - again, sounding irritatingly like Emma - reminded her. _Or you_, the voice added, but without judgement, almost apologetic.

Henry's voice called her back to the well, out of the downward spiral of her mind, where she spent most of her time these days.

"No!" he squealed, causing Regina's eyes to widen as Emma's head jerked back in shock. Charming tentatively raised his gun again, clearly wondering if Regina had cast some other kind of spell on his grandson. This did not escape the child's notice.

"She hasn't cursed me, Grandpa! I'm just saying - this is exactly the problem!"

Emma wore the look of one befuddled by a complex calculus equation. Regina suppressed the instinct to find this adorable as she focused on Henry, hoping against hope that he was getting at what she thought he was.

"I'm not following, kid," Emma said densely, obviously impatient to get out of this damned forest.

"Clearly," Regina couldn't help but murmur as three glares and one look of mildly amused exasperation were sent her way. Emma tried - hard - to avoid noting that Henry's exasperated face was the same as Regina's. She internally rolled her eyes at herself. The anger was so much easier than the grudging love for the brunette, whose roller coasters were both higher and lower than Emma could ever have dreamed possible.

Their child continued as though uninterrupted. "Think about it," he imposed as though he were the adult and they were the children. "Since the curse broke and Mom's tried to be better, what have we done? She saved you and Mary Margaret, then we all went to celebrate without her, and no one but you ever even thanked her, Emma. Then, when you _did _invite her, no one spent time with her at dinner, but Grumpy threatened her with a big knife and everyone at her lasagna without thanking her or asking how she was after absorbing all that fairy magic and everything. No one looked _really_ hard for her when we found out that Archie was alive, even though we Cora's so dangerous and could have hurt her. And instead of apologizing for not believing her about Archie, we all just ganged up on her about Cora.

"And_ now_," he took a big breath as all the adults' mouths hung open and tears clung to two of their faces, "Mary Margaret manipulated her into killing her own mother, and we all have sympathy for Grandma but none for Mom, but all I have to do was _talk_ to her to convince her not to hurt anyone, and _still_ you're suggesting that we all just go off together, _again_, and leave her, _again_? Don't you _get it? _It's this kind of stuff that makes her feel like she has to be the Evil Queen! You should know better than _any_body, Emma: you were abandoned, too."

Tears had stained his cheeks in the same pattern that they had stained Regina's as he spoke. Emma's mascara and eyeliner - cheaper than Regina's and less water resistant - had smeared slightly down her face as blood began gathering on her lip, tasting iron because of how hard she was biting down, trying to control her trembling.

The younger woman's voice cracked as she began, "Regina, I - "

"Save it, Ms. Swan," Regina deadpanned, though the admonition somehow lacked its usual sting. "I have no desire for your pity, borne only out of the insights of _my _son." But she looked at Neal, not at Emma, as she claimed Henry as hers.

Her face softened as she took Henry's chin in her palm and bent down to his level. "Thank you, Henry. But they don't want me." His eyes were almost as sad as hers, his brow slightly furrowed, matching the tired creases above and below her eyes. She opened her heart, slightly, looking into his brown orbs. "And who can blame them? I was just threatening to kill someone they love."

Henry opened his mouth to object, but she put a soft finger to his lips. "Come by and see me tomorrow? If - " she paused and searched his eyes, finding love for her in them that she hadn't seen untainted by doubt in far too long. " - if your _mother_ permits it."

She kissed him softly on the nose and vanished in a puff of purple fog before his open arms could wrap around her.


	3. Chapter 3

Henry stumbled forward, staggering at the unexpected lack of contact as Regina's body disappeared before him. He kept his back towards his birth mother, sniffling.

_His heart's gonna break._

Emma's own warning - or was it a threat? - to Regina rang back to her, cascading over her as the fog cleared. She had accused Regina of harming Henry: hadn't she done her share of that, too?

"Henry?" She wasn't sure what she wanted to ask him, but she knew she needed him to turn around, to look at her, to tell her he forgave her for mistreating his adoptive mother, abandoning her so violently after doing nothing but showing faith in her.

He rotated slowly on the spot, an oddly sheepish look on his face. "I'm hungry," he admitted.

Charming and Neal let out relieved laughs as Emma hesitatingly stretched her arms out to him again. He relented. "Sure, kid, let's go grab a grilled cheese at Granny's."

He withdrew again, and Emma's heart sank. "I want _real_ food," he murmured in a small voice, afraid to hurt Emma's feelings but wanting to be truthful with her.

Emma swallowed, hard, and Charming watching the woman that had become his daughter grimace, making her own rapid calculations as she weighed everything that had transpired in the last few minutes.

"Henry, d'you... would you like to go to R - to your mom's for dinner tonight? I know she said tomorrow, but I also know she'd love to see you sooner. It'd... It'd make her happy."

Henry's eyes gleamed in tentative delight. "And you..." he paused, not wanting to seem over-eager. "... you _care _if my mom is happy?"

Emma flushed, her eyes shifting from side to side as though searching for help and finding none. Henry noted her change in coloration victoriously. "'Course I care, kid, when she's not going all Evil Queen on us." Maybe she detected the glimmer in his eyes, because she felt the need to rationalize her statement, adding defensively, "She's your mom."

"And you trust her alone with me?"

"Jeez, kid, what's with the 20 questions?" He looked at her pointedly - _god, he looks exactly like Regina_ - and she sighed. "I don't know if I trust her alone with you, Henry. I kind of... I kind of meant we could both go..."

Henry knew this would be too much for Regina, and judging by Emma's face, he was pretty sure she knew, too, but couldn't think of any other options.

"What is it, Henry? Why do you trust her so much all of a sudden?"

The child considered his answer carefully, and all near him could practically hear his gears buzzing. "Because she was honest with me." _If only you knew about what! _"Why did _you_ trust her when everyone else thought she killed Archie?"

_I know that look._

_I know _her_._

_I believe her._

Her words echoed strongly in Charming's head - and her own - as he searched his daughter's face. His eyes shifted down to take in Henry's earnestness as he wondered what in all the realms the precocious boy was trying to get at.

Emma pursed her lips momentarily in an unconsciously Regina-like motion. David and Henry noticed, the former squinting in surprise and the corner of the latter's mouth twitching in satisfaction.

"Let me at least take you to her place," she decided, ignoring the boy's question. She tossed up her hands before his eyebrows could completely disappear into his flyaway hair. "I'll leave you at the fate! She won't have to see me."

Henry nodded and took his new mom's hand, setting off towards the town. His mind spun rapidly as he tried to tune out their awkward babblings about how things were between Bae and Rumpel and what David's ideas were about how to begin comforting Mary Margaret. His thoughts were absorbed with musings about what Regina had revealed to him. He didn't think it would be too hard to make sure Emma loved Regina (he was pretty sure she already did, but maybe didn't know it yet), but getting her to admit it - and getting Regina to confess the same to Emma - that was another story.

By the time they reached the town itself, he was glad he'd taken Emma's hand: lost in thought, he's lost count of how many roots and rocks and fallen branches he'd tripped on. If Emma found this clumsiness strange from the child of Regina, she didn't say anything. She didn't, Henry noted, say much of anything at all. He decided to take it as a good sign.

* * *

Regina sank into the couch that she'd perched herself upon the first night that damned blonde had thundered into her life. With a graceful swish of her wrist, a calmingly strong glass of cider appeared in her hand.

She was so stunned by the recent turn of events that it took many minutes of merely sitting, sipping, and letting her mind race - she knew that fighting it would be futile - to realize that this was the first time she had been alone in an exceedingly love time that hadn't been plagued by tears.

Henry had expressed such deep love for her: he had faith in her, he wanted to help her. He wanted to destroy _magic_, not his mother. _His mother_. He had steadfastly insisted that she was, indeed, his mom. She indulged herself with a relieved smile, the first genuinely happy one she'd managed in too long.

She considered and reconsidered and re-reconsidered the wisdom of revealing her feelings for Emma to Henry. The last time she'd confided a love secret in a child, her lover had been murdered.

But Daniel had told her to love again, and Henry was not Snow. He was headstrong, surely, but she had raised him to be confident, not ceaselessly moralistic. What he took on from that damned book, she decided, had been beyond her control.

Lost in a dizzying swirl of her life and loves, past, present and - perhaps? Dare she hope? - future, she almost failed to register the incessant knocking on the door. When it finally did rouse her, she shuddered, her stomach shrinking like a desiccated magic bean.

She couldn't stop herself from recalling the stark contrast between opening to door cockily to an enraged Whale and being unexpectedly saved by Emma and opening the door with relief when she assumed Emma had come to apologize, but she instead shattered what had been left of her heart with her hateful words and lost faith.

Fearing the worst - a change of mind (or heart?) by the Savior - she decided to meet it with composure, smoothing her already impeccable outfit and checking her flawless hair.

She stared out at her eye level as she opened the door evenly, and was mildly - but by no means unpleasantly - surprised to have to look down, meeting brown eyes instead of green.

"Hi, Mom," her Henry murmured as he buried himself in her midsection. She looked up from his hair when she heard a car door slam and watched in wonder as Emma's damned yellow bug drove away.

* * *

"So Mom," he began, in a tone that he clearly thought was conspiratorially and business-like, but which she just found incredibly adorable, "I was thinking on the way over here - "

"Swallow your food, darling, and then tell me what you were thinking," she chastised affectionately. She smiled deeply as he took an enormous swallow of a forkful of food that had combined salad, mashed potatoes, and delicately fried fake chicken (Regina never had become comfortable with the barbarity and inefficiency of eating meat in this part of this realm). She raised her eyebrows lightly.

"I did think that you would chew first, you know," she teased gently.

"Sorry, Mom, I'm just excited about Operation Phoenix."

Her eyebrows jutted up again. "Is this what we're calling..." She trailed off, finding it easier to let him say it.

"The secret plan to get Emma to fall in love with you and admit it, right. I picked phoenix because they burn up but then come back from their own ashes, so um, I thought..." It was Henry's turn to trail off. It sounded more sad than cool when he said it out loud to her.

He was grateful to find Regina chewing her food thoughtfully. She nodded sadly as she swallowed and told him, "I'm familiar with phoenixes, honey. They're real, you know. And I think it is an... appropriate name."

His face split into a broad grin that she couldn't help but mirror. Nerves - horrendous, life-altering terror, if truth be told - about admitting to anyone that she loved someone, especially Ms. Swan, or not, Regina hadn't been able to have this much fun with Henry in a very long time.

"So, stage one, I think, was this afternoon. If Emma knows I love you and trust you, she's more likely to open herself up. Stage two is getting you two comfortable interacting without fighting all the time. I might have to enlist help for that one." He held up his hands to preempt her objections. "Don't worry, it'll be on a need to know basis. Stage three is getting her to see that she loves you - my intel makes me think that she already does, she just kind of shoves it deep down inside her, like you do. Stage four - "

"Alright, Henry," Regina chuckled. "I can see that this plan is in very capable hands. But can we focus on stage two for now? I don't know if I'm even ready to think about stage four, let alone engage in stage two: she's done a lot of damage recently."

Henry nodded solemnly. "That's why I have to get her to apologize. Don't worry, I'll make sure it's genuine. I just think she's scared right now that if she says sorry, you'll try to kill her. Which, I mean - "

"Wouldn't be out of the ordinary," Regina supplied with a wry grin.

Henry nodded apologetically. "So, you have to accept her apology. And you have stuff to apologize for, too. But it can't be too mushy during stage two, or she'll suspect something."

She couldn't help it. She laughed - loudly and long, feeling it in her belly for the first time in years - at the gravity in his tone, the utter seriousness with which he was parent-trapping his moms. "Are you too old to come sit in my lap?" she asked, wondering if she was pushing it but feeling too giddy to care.

She didn't even think about chiding him for scraping his chair on the floor as he eagerly slid out of his seat and all but barreled into her lap.

Maybe his anger at her being the Evil Queen hadn't been because he'd hated her. Maybe he - like he was trying to say about Emma - had always loved her so much that it wasn't hatred, but a sense of betrayal, of heartbreak, that had breathed life into his aversion to her. These thoughts rocked through her body as she clung to him.

_Love is weakness, Regina_, the ghost of her mother's voice reminded her.

But as she felt the still tiny, warm body in her lap, she found herself positively unable to agree.

* * *

"When did you start loving Emma, Mom? This stuff is important intel for Operation Phoenix, so you've really got to work with me here. And remember that I'm eleven, so you don't have to censor yourself."

For the sake of his pre-pubescent ego, Regina suppressed another belly laugh as she also tried to suppress the images running through her mind of all those nights she'd dreamed of the Sheriff and bit into her pillow to keep Henry from hearing her screams of pleasure at imagining what that nuisance of a woman could do to her, what she could do to her in return.

She ran her fingers through his hair thoughtfully as she watched him finish his ice cream. She leaned back on the couch and thought. _Did she even know?_

"You have to understand, honey, that I've never admitted these... these feelings to anyone else, and it was only when... when Daniel... with the stables... that I even allowed myself to admit it... So I don't know if I can really answer that." She watched the disappointment crease his forehead and thought harder for him.

"I suppose I should have known I felt something when she came back for me in that fire, not to mention all those times she saved me after the Curse broke. But it's so much more than that..." She was grateful for the maturity of his silence, and plowed on.

"She gave birth to you, so of course she's extra special to me... I think I always knew that she was fighting for you, and I know what that feels like... I think I wanted to challenge her so much because if she didn't came back strong enough, she wouldn't be worthy of you... But she is..."

She reached out with her index finger and took a swipe of his ice cream thoughtfully, daintily licking it off of her finger. She chuckled when she realized what she was doing. "I guess she rubs off on me." They both smiled.

She continued. "That day you were trapped in the mines..." She trailed off, thinking about that moment between them, the one so intense that Graham had to step away, their lips mere inches apart, green eyes burning her soul and tingling her core, her countenance more desperate, more vulnerable, than she had ever let the blonde see to that point... She nodded as if confirming something for herself. "I think that's the day I... well, you know..."

"Say it, Mom. It's important."

Regina shook her head and scoffed gently. "This is supposed to be the other way around, darling. _I'm_ supposed to be helping _you_ with love, not - "

"Yeah, Storybrooke relationships are _so_ normal," Henry interrupted sardonically. "My classmates are all technically eighteen years older than me, Ruby ate her former boyfriend, my grandpa is Rumpelstiltskin, and Emma looks the same age as her parents, both of whom she's arrested and one of whom she lived with as roommates!" He paused to catch his breath and smiled slightly, reaching out for Regina's hand. "It's okay, Mom: I want to help you and Emma..."

Regina gave him a tight-lipped smile, mourning his carefree days but glad she had given him as many of them as she could. She shifted, her body language and voice open as they had been when she was a teenager. Before Daniel died.

"So, how do we move forward with Operation Phoenix?"


	4. Chapter 4

"Are you sure you don't want to stay here tonight, Henry? Your bedroom is just waiting for you."

To her surprise, tears swam in her son's eyes. She's never seen him so torn, and regretted asking him to stay.

"If you don't think you'll be ok, I'll stay with you, Mom. But I'm afraid of pushing things too fast... Operation Phoenix is a sensitive mission! But just remember, if we're successful, we'll live like a real family..."

The doorbell rang, and Regina grimaced. "Remind me why I couldn't have just dropped you off?" She looked at her son's face.

"Oh, right, the Mary Margaret thing." Her words were flippant, but her tone was solemn - almost regretful. Henry squeezed her hand.

The doorbell rang twice more in rapid succession. Regina rolled her eyes as the two stood up and Henry suppressed a grin. "Commencing stage two," he murmured.

Henry opened the door to his blonde mother, who was awkwardly waiting on the porch. Regina hovered hesitantly in the background, her heart in her throat. Emma's entire body visibly tensed when she looked at her.

"Do try to relax, Ms. Swan; we wouldn't want you injuring yourself."

Emma's eyes flashed, having missed the affection in the brunette's tease.

"I'm sorry, Regina, it's just that it was only a few hours ago that you swore to kill my mother. Forgive me for tensing up around you."

Henry groaned as he heard his adoptive mother step forward behind him. He silently willed her to remember Operation Phoenix, but he knew her pride wouldn't allow her to refuse a challenge.

"That's not quite the apology I've been expecting from you, Sheriff." Henry's heart quaked as he detected the pain in Regina's statement, the bitter abandonment she'd felt when the blonde stopped believing her about Archie's death, hoping against hope that Emma heard it, too.

She didn't.

"Yeah, it was so hard to believe you'd murder an innocent man! Shocking, really, especially when you consider how you just killed a woman who'd done nothing wrong just to torture my mother!"

Regina visibly flinched when the blonde brought up Johanna. Her eyes flared, but her tone was surprisingly quiet.

"That was my mother's doing." It was almost apologetic. Emma, coming from spending a few hours trying to talk her mother out of death wishes, was too incensed to notice or care.

"Yes, that's right, your _mother_! That _wonderful_ woman you're so furious at Mary Margaret for stopping!"

Henry opened his mouth to cut this off, but Regina's tear-soaked voice rose first.

"She didn't have to curse her heart, you wretched little bi-" She glanced down at Henry's wild eyes and stopped herself, closing her eyes and swallowing as Emma raised her chin defiantly, an action she's unconsciously taken from Regina.

"She could have encouraged me to put her heart back without cursing it first," Regina finished in a defeated murmur.

Something stirred deep in Emma's heart. Something painful, something... compassionate. She blinked slowly, staring at the woman who had been so broken that she built herself back up in all the most lethal ways, and now was ripping all the self-made stitches out, trying to remake who she was. Again.

"And you could have stopped Cora from murdering Johanna," Emma whispered. It was a statement, not an accusation.

"You don't know my mother, Ms. Swan," was all Regina offered in response.

"Maybe not," the younger woman conceded, her voice so soft Henry almost leaned forward to hear it better. "But I thought I knew you. Like you thought you knew her."

Emma turned on her heel and walked briskly away. "C'mon, Henry," she called, without turning back.

The boy hugged his mother, hard. "Don't give up, Mom. I believe in you. And I believe in Operation Phoenix," he whispered. Then, louder, so Emma could hear, as he trotted down the path after her, "See you tomorrow, Mom!"

The blonde suppressed a groan. The innocent school teacher was suddenly suicidal and her son was now gung-ho about spending time with Regina, all a few hours after the former Queen had threatened to kill her mother and curse her son. _Why am I even letting her see him?_

A glance down at his thoughtful face reminded her. For better or worse, Regina was his mom. She supposed she was happy he was finally realizing that. Like she'd be happy to plant her face into her pillow when they got home.

* * *

Regina watched them leave; alone. She forced Henry's words to keep ringing in her ears. She stepped outside as their footsteps died away and stared up at the stars, losing herself for a moment, minutes, hours. Eventually, she shuddered, chilled by the night air, and closed the door. She finished her cider alone in bed, wondering if the rest of Operation Phoenix would go better than the first part of stage two had. She thought of Cora, and tears slid idly down her cheeks as she fell asleep.


	5. Chapter 5

**Thank for you the sweet, encouraging reviews! I won't complain if you keep them coming. ;)**

**Heads up for a little bit of mild bondage (consensual) in this chapter - Swan Queen sexyfuntimes can be... well... bondage-y! If bondage isn't your thing, feel free to skip over the italicized part towards the middle of the chapter. **

* * *

He heard his blonde mother's faint snoring on the floor next to him (she'd insisted, when they and his grandparents first started living together, on him taking the bed: he was the child, and anyway, she was used to the floor). The noise was comforting to him.

At the moment, though, he was trying to block it out. He was concentrating hard on Operation Phoenix. Was he in over his head? How to get them calmer around each other? Both of his moms had such strong walls. Both were hurting. Henry wasn't sure how to ease Regina's pain except by giving her love, which is exactly what this mission was about. But Emma? Her hurt was specific now. She's said it: "But I thought I knew you." Getting Emma to apologize for stopping believing Regina wasn't going to be that easy.

_Ugh._ He groaned aloud and Emma twitched in her sleep. He put his fist to his mouth childishly, continuing to think.

Suddenly he sat bolt upright. He rummaged quietly for his phone, typed out a quick text, and, a satisfied smile on his face, fell promptly asleep.

* * *

"You're trying to do _what_? No way, kid. After everything that's gone down? It ain't gonna happen."

"It's _gotta_ happen, Ruby! Don't you see? You have to! You're the only one who can understand!"

His babysitter furrowed her brow, having wondered why Henry had chosen _her_ for help since she got his text the night before:

_Urgent: need help with a top secret mission to help both my moms. Please walk me to school tom. Emma's tired and will appreciate it._

"_Me?_ And why's that, kid?" Ruby looked at him searchingly. He certainly got his intensity from Regina.

"Because you know that people are more than what everyone thinks about them. You know my Mom has good in her even though people don't believe it - like they believe the worst things about you. You've done bad things, too, but you learned how to control it and you're a really good person."

He paused to let the analogy sink in, before continuing, more mischievously, "Also, I know you know Emma likes her. You tease her about the way she stares at my mom's butt and down her shirts." Ruby's eyebrows raised and her mouth opened, but no defense emerged. She spluttered. Henry merely shrugged. "I head more than you think I do."

Ruby swallowed a laugh as she forced herself to focus on Henry's plan and the sincerity in his tone.

"Henry, thinking someone..." She sought a way to explain this to an eleven year old. "... _looks nice_ is a lot different than being their True Love."

"But you _know_ there's no difference here," the child persisted.

Ruby stared at him, thinking hard about how, as long as Emma had been in town, she'd only had eyes for the Mayor. How, the way David told it, the whole reason Emma had gotten trapped in the Enchanted Forest was because she pushed Regina out of harm's way, immediately after touching her and making magic. And - though Regina was more subtle about it - the Queen did seem to have a... particularly strong connection with the blonde. Even if that connection was sometimes somewhat homicidal.

"Alright, kid," she conceded. "What did you call this Operation Thingamawhatsit again?"

"Operation Phoenix!" he reminded her, his chest puffing up with excited pride. "And it's top secret, so you're not allowed to tell anyone!"

Ruby grinned. The kid was good. And this might be fun. Besides, it would be good for everyone's blood pressure - and her wallet - if those two stopped fighting all the time: the broken mugs and dishes those two caused always came out of her paycheck.

* * *

Just before classes began, Henry sent off a text to Regina. "Hi Mom. Ruby's going to help with O.P.! Don't worry, I didn't give her any sensitive info. It's need to know, and no one needs to know your feelings until you're ready!"

* * *

_"I think you'll find, Ms. Swan, that _I'm_ the one who has my way with others in bed." _

_There was a cool, calm challenge in her voice. Impressive for someone who was trapped lying on her back in her own bed, whose wrists were handcuffed tightly above her head, and whose ankles were secured bound together, legs stretched up in the air, exposing her naked ass to the woman kneeling cockily above her._

_Emma merely smirked in response, dropping slowly down to the brunette's level. As her tangle of blonde hair caressed the older woman's face, the Sheriff whispered salaciously in her ear, "I think you'll find, _Your Majesty_, that _I'm_ the one in control here." She slipped a slender finger onto Regina's lips when the brunette opened her mouth to sass a response, Emma reading the excitement in her eyes accurately._

_"Uh uh," she continued. "No talking."_

_The older woman felt the blonde's sultry smirk and heat tore through her entire body, starting in and flowing back to her soaked cunt. Emma continued, one hand on Regina's cuffed wrists and the other snaking down between her legs. "And I think you quite like letting _me_ have all the control. I think you want me to take the driver's seat and fuck you until the sun comes up."_

_Regina moaned and arched her hips in response, lacking the desire to lie and deny the truth of Emma's words. She wondered vaguely what she had ever done to deserve a woman who understands her so well; her thirst to let someone else call the shots in a positive, consensual, pleasurable way, after decades of harboring a desperate need to control everyone in her life as she grappled for a modicum of authority over her own. _

_A strong vibration - sadly, not between her legs, but on her nightstand - jolted Regina's senses. Emma didn't notice, continuing her fingers' exploration of the ocean between her lover's legs. _

Regina groaned as she awoke, sweat having formed an erotic sheen on her body. She fumbled over to see who had texted her.

Reading her son's message, she groaned anew, knowing what an embarrassing _tour de force_ Ruby and Henry could be together. But she smiled, thrilled to have her son so enthusiastically supporting her and so sensitively anticipating her wishes for discretion.

* * *

"Hey Ems," Ruby greeted the Sheriff with a bright smile and a big mug of hot cocoa.

"Mm," the blonde grunted in response. She groggily plopped down at the bar and took a long sip of her hot cocoa. It enlivened her, and she looked back up at Ruby, wiping the inevitable dollop of whipped cream off of her nose as she did so. "Thanks for taking Henry this morning, Rubes."

Her friend nodded, suppressing a smirk. She calmly proceeded with Henry's genius plan.

"How is she?" she asked solemnly, just as he'd asked her to.

Emma sighed into her cinnamony drink. "Not well," she reported sadly. "She won't eat, David said she's not sleeping at night - "

"No, no," Ruby cut her off. "I know how your mom is: I came over this morning to spend an hour with her before I took Henry to school." Emma marveled inwardly at her friend. The woman who hated the early shift with a passion. The woman who probably would have helped raise her if it hadn't been for... _her_. "I meant Regina."

The Sheriff nearly choked on her cocoa, and Ruby hastily composed her victorious grin into a look of concern. Emma shrugged, recovering herself, eyes half closed in thought. "Super messed up. But when has she not been?" she asked, almost questioning herself more than Ruby. "Henry's pretty worried about her. Seems to think her problem is that she's lonely. I got news for that kid, I've been lonely, too, and I never - "

Ruby sensed the lack of conviction, the guilt, lacing Emma's tone, and decided to interrupt her before she managed to convince herself of something she didn't believe, knowing the Sheriff and the Queen were more similar than Emma could bring herself to admit at the moment.

"I watched my mother die, too, Emma. I was _responsible_ for it. Regina needs someone right now, and you saved her life in front of the whole town. _From_ the whole town. You're the closet thing she's got to a friend."

Emma snorted. "Rubes, if ever I was, I'm not anymore. I lost faith in her about Archie: she'll never forgive me. Not to mention she just tortured and wanted to kill my mom: _yesterday!_"

"But she didn't," Ruby countered softly, squeezing Emma's hand before setting off to take Ashley and the baby's breakfast order.

Her eyes locked on Emma's thoughtful form - staring into her rapidly emptying mug as if it held the answers to all of life's mysteries - as she swept into the kitchen to place an order of Belgian waffles with strawberries.

Checking furtively for Granny's watchful eyes, she whipped her phone out of her skirt pocket and texted Henry. "Stage 2 = on. Planted seeds in E's head. Looks like it wrkd grt!" She sent the message with an extremely satisfied smirk.

* * *

An hour later, Emma was clenching and unclenching her fists, her heart racing, walking slowly up the walkway to Regina's front door.

The last time she made this walk alone, it had been to the house of the woman who had raised her son; a sharply brilliant mayor with a quick temper and singular ability to run her small town; an enemy who was about to get a shock when Emma committed to leaving that town. She had left the Mayor's mansion that day with poison in tupperware.

Today, she was walking the path to the house of the same woman, but... _was she the same?_ Still her son's mother, no longer the mayor, and now... _what?_ The Evil Queen? A lonely soul in need of redemption? Someone too complex for a cliched tagline?

A chill ran down Emma's spine as she took a deep breath and raised her hand to knock on the door.

"Ms. Swan?"

Emma jumped a mile high at the sound of Regina's voice behind her. She spun rapidly and the sight before her took her breath away. The woman on the walkway was certainly Regina, but she looked years younger. Sweat was shimmering on her forehead, her generally perfect hair was windswept, and her normally pristine power suit had been replaced by riding gear that many princes would be proud to wear: burgundy pants and a long, matching jacket, buttoned tightly below her breasts, framing her body perfectly, a simple white ruffled shirt peeking out from underneath the jacket. The ensemble was completed by dark mahogany knee-high riding boots, obviously well-worn, and matching black gloves, also clearly much-used.

Emma desperately hoped Regina couldn't hear the way her heart skipped about sixteen beats at the sight of her in that attire. _What the hell? Why would I care? _The blonde's jaw hung open as she took in the brunette's appearance.

Regina fought the smile that was threatening to emerge, sensing the stunned appreciation in Emma's gaze. _Maybe Henry's right..._ she dared to hope. After several seconds, however, she cleared her throat: the blonde could at least _try _to be subtle.

Emma jumped again. "Regina! I - you - " Her eyes searched Regina's body again, and the brunette intuited the question in them.

"I've been horseback riding, Ms. Swan. And yes," she deadpanned, anticipating Emma's next question, "Storybrooke has stables. Something I would think she Sheriff would be aware of. Nonetheless, I presume you didn't come here to gawk as though I were a painting on display?" She hoped Emma heard the teasing, rather than pure disdain, in her voice.

_A painting_, Emma thought numbly. _That's the perfect way to describe her... Whoa, where the hell did _that_ come from? _She registered the cocking of Regina's eyebrow and mentally kicked herself. She hated when men acted like this around her. She made herself focus on why she had come. Her fists opened and closed at her side like fishes' gaping mouths.

"I'm sorry, you just... I'm used to you wearing... Doesn't matter. You look great, I just... never mind." She thought she saw the corners of Regina's mouth twitch; unsure if it was with pleasure or annoyance or anger, she decided to air on the side of caution. She cleared her throat and started again, realizing as she did so that she was standing just where Regina had been when Emma delivered the blow she'd come to apologize for.

"We need to talk," she began. Regina's heart trembled, remembering those words and wondering if the Sheriff did, too.

_Yes, I imagine we do._

The brunette nodded. "Go on," she encouraged tentatively, wondering if Operation Phoenix had anything to do with Emma's obviously sweaty palms and uncharacteristically diminutive attitude.

_What, no 'come inside and have a drink?'_ Emma thought inappropriately. She ignored herself and took a deep breath.

"I came here to apologize. Regina, I never should have lost faith in you. I never should have told you Henry isn't your son, and I should never have told you you wouldn't see him again. And..." She looked down, ashamed. "You didn't poison him against you: we all let our kids down, but that... that doesn't mean we can't all be forgiven."

Tears shined in Regina's eyes. Emma knew she was thinking of Cora, and her heart ached despite herself. "You raised our kid damn well, Regina, and he got it before I did; you deserved a chance to show me - to show _him _- your side of the story, and I was so blinded by anger that I didn't let myself listen to you. And I - I'm sorry, Regina. You deserved better than that. You _deserve_ better than that."

A seemingly impenetrable silence filled the pathway to 108 Mifflin Street. Regina's heart was doing back flips and she didn't know if she felt elated or enraged. Was the blonde only saying these things to keep Regina off the homicidal path with her mother? Only to get her off her balance, to let her guard down, so that she could take advantage of that weakness later.

_Weakness_.

Her mother talking.

Grief and something deeper - a sense of relief, perhaps, that her mother was finally gone, and the overwhelming guilt that came along with that - flickered across Regina's face like lightning on a clear night.

Emma watched her struggle, slightly breathless, as the moments grew into minutes and the minutes took shape on the older woman's face.

The Sheriff nodded her head at Regina slightly, deciding to respect her need to process her apology. She stepped around her, hands non-threateningly clasped behind her back, and made her way silently to the gate.

"Emma."

The voice was so soft Emma thought she had imagined it. She turned around, just in case. The older woman - looking so much younger in those riding clothes - hadn't turned to face the blonde, but it was clear from the renewed rigidity of her form that she had, indeed, called her name.

"Regina," Emma answered softly.

"Thank you."

Emma nodded silently, knowing Regina would sense it, and turned again to go.

She paused.

"Regina."

"Yes?" The former mayor still hadn't turned around, and Emma thought she heard the tears in her throat. She hoped she was imagining it, but knew she wasn't.

"Would you like to pick Henry up from school this afternoon? I think he'd like that."

This time, Emma felt the older woman's smile. She heard her whispered thank you, nodded again, and slipped out of the gate, closing it behind her.


	6. Chapter 6

She watched with joyful anticipation as Henry jumped down from the school bus, but her eyes stung and her heart sank as she remembered with a sharp pang the last time she'd seen him get off the school bus: she'd watched from a distance as Emma had broken his faith in her. But what was it the blonde had said?

_We all let our kids down, but that... that doesn't mean we can't all be forgiven._

_Indeed_.

Henry was laughing with Hansel and Gretel as they jovially strode to the corner, waiting to cross the street. His eyes shimmered with a mix of emotion she couldn't quite read when he noticed her. His friends fell silent. Her heart quaked. She forced a smile.

"Emma said I could pick you up today, Henry. I can take you all for ice cream if you'd like," she offered brightly, extending her hand to include Hansel and Gretel.

Henry glanced at his new friends, not having the heart to tell Regina he felt too big to be picked up from the bus stop, nor that he was scared of how they would react to her. He had doubtful hope in his eyes.

"The last time we were near you and sweets, _Your Majesty_, we were almost cooked alive!" Gretel glared bravely at the woman, whose smile faltered as her eyes fogged up.

Hansel glanced at Henry, whose face was the image of pain. The boy of few words whispered to his sister, loud enough for all involved to hear, "But she's not just the Evil Queen anymore, Gretel. She's Henry's mom, too."

Gretel considered her sibling thoughtfully, Henry and Regina both holding their breaths, identical grimaces on their faces.

"Everything alright here?" The four turned to see Michael approaching, caution and a bit of a challenge in his step. He swooped protectively in front of his children.

"Michael," Regina greeted softly. Henry read the shame in her eyes and felt tears string his own.

_Was this how Neal felt as a child, as Baelfire? But Regina is truly changing... Not like Rumpelstiltskin._

"The Sheriff asked me to pick Henry up from school, and I thought your children might like to accompany us to get some ice cream."

Michael clenched his jaw. "Do you think an afternoon of ice cream can make up for what you did to our family?" His words passed through grinding teeth, and came out serrated. Henry could tell he was restraining his anger for the sake of him and his own children. He looked up at his mom, dreading the impending explosion.

It never came.

"Quite the contrary, Michael." The Queen's voice was soft, worn. Exhausted. "I can never make up for what I did to you and your children, even if I spent a lifetime atoning according to your every specification. I can only offer you... my... " She spluttered, unable to bring the words to her lips. Emma had said them just this morning. Perhaps she was not as strong as the blonde yet. "I only wanted to be happy. I never had the beautiful family that you do."

The Woodsman held her eyes and refused to let go. Seconds bled into minutes, and the children fidgeted nervously.

"Henry says she's changed, Father," Hansel offered softly, breaking the silence. Henry beamed at him, a look which Hansel returned, and Gretel happily filed the exchange away for later discussion.

Michael glanced down at Gretel, who nodded slowly, affirming her brother's trust in Henry's judgement. Michael ran one hand through Hansel's hair and held the other out for Regina.

"If it's good enough for my children, then it's good enough for me. Why don't we all go?" Regina's heart slowed as she took his hand, her body moving as if she were in a daze. And, indeed, she was.

_Perhaps Operation Phoenix is about more than winning the heart of Emma Swan_, she though to herself as Michael's large hand drowned hers. _Mm, bad phrasing_, she teased herself wryly.

"Mom," Henry began, "Hansel likes his ice cream best with pie. Can we go to Granny's?"

"I was just about to suggest the same thing, Henry!" Gretel piped up, smiling at him.

Regina beamed around at them all. "Granny's it is, then!" She, like Gretel, filed away Henry's affection towards Hansel for later discussion.

As they were walking - Henry brimming with excitement for so many reasons, including the fact that he knew Emma would come to Granny's soon for her afternoon coffee and bear claw - Regina leaned over his ear, unable to resist any longer.

"Your mother apologized to me," she whispered conspiratorially. Michael watched, bemused, as the boy squealed and hugged her so hard she almost overbalanced in her stilettos. He marveled at what changes having a child or children who love you could have on someone's life. He had heard the brunette had just lost her mother, and wondered if that accounted for how easily her eyes misted over, even when she otherwise seemed happy.

* * *

Feeling hopefully about Emma's apology and elated at spending time with Henry and making amends with his friends, Regina happily engaged the children while they were at Granny's, regaling them with whatever deserts they chose, without even letting herself comment on the utter lack of nutritional value.

She even let Hansel playfully dab whipped cream onto her nose, after he insisted that since everyone else, even Michael, had some on them from their hot cocoa, that she should have some, too.

Her heart stopped mid-laugh when she looked up as the bell on the door chimed.

* * *

Emma Swan's lithe form was frozen in the doorway, mouth open so wide her chin nearly bruised itself on the floor, taking in the image of her former nemesis - the woman she'd forced herself to apologize to mere hours before - surrounded by laughing children, a considerable dollop of whipped cream blotted onto her perfect face.

Henry watched their shocked eyes meet and his gaze sought out Ruby's, who was smirking like nobody's business. He saw her take out her phone, and he pulled his own out of his pocket. Sure enough, it buzzed a moment later.

_Did u set this up kid? Smooth!_

He grinned broadly and nodded at her, not bothering to type a response to her message.

Meanwhile, his parents were still staring at each other, Emma transfixed by the sight before her. The rest of the diner's customers - already confused and frankly alarmed by the Evil Queen's presence and laughter - shifted uneasily in their seats, no doubt preparing for the showdown of the century. If they were looking forward to it at all, they were disappointed.

Regina recovered the ability to speak first. "Ms. Swan," she greeted over the silence that had befallen the diner, "This was Henry's chosen venue for our after-school snack. Would you care to join us? I'm sure bear claws go well enough with ice cream, at least in the artery-clogging department."

Perhaps realizing for the first time that she was not only gaping, but blocking the doorway, Emma hastily crossed the diner to their table, running a distracted hand - _wait a second. she knows what kind of donut I like best?_ - through Henry's hair as she approached.

"You uh," she began awkwardly, as thought afraid the dethroned Queen might turn her into a toad - or worse - if she didn't tell her, but also terrified of what would happen when she did, "you've got some whipped cream... uh... just there..." Emma pointed to her own nose as the children giggled and even Michael barely suppressed a hearty giggle.

Hearing the blonde talk about whipped cream sent an intense surge of heat through the brunette's body, and she wondering - recalling Emma's utter distraction at her riding gear earlier - if the Sheriff could possibly be experiencing anything similar.

"She knows. This is the whipped-cream-on-the-nose-table!" Gretel - whose playful side Emma always seemed to bring out since she reunited Ava and Nicholas with their father - informed the blonde cheerfully. "Which means..." Quick as lightning, she swiped her finger through the top of her hot chocolate, jumped up, and smeared it onto Emma's nose before she could react. The sound of three pre-teens giggling hysterically roused both older women from their musings as Regina began to laugh lightly at Emma's shock.

"It seems you've been initiated, dear," Regina teased Emma. "You might as well take a seat now."

_Who is this woman_? Emma certainly couldn't figure out what her angle was. Trying to kill her mother one day and entertaining three children who used to be terrified of her the next? Sure, she had deserved an apology, but this was still the woman who'd killed her own father and murdered Graham. _Wasn't she_? Unable to process, Emma chose retreat.

"I uh... I actually have to..." She pointed vaguely over her shoulder. "There's a lot to do at the station, and I - "

"Oh, come on, Emma! David can handle it for a little while! Please?" Henry asked, eyes widening irresistibly. Emma mock-glared at him.

"Sometimes you learn _too_ much from your mom, kid," she muttered as she sat down amidst cheers.

"What was that, Ms. Swan?" Regina deliberately kept her tone light for the children, but there was a smoldering burning in her eyes.

Emma rose to what she read as a challenge in Regina's face. "Didn't you see those puppy eyes he gave? First-class manipulator!" She ruffled Henry's hair as she said this. Ruby almost spilled Leroy's coffee, she was so transfixed by the unfolding scene, of which, of course, she could hear everything.

"I don't believe I've ever given anyone _puppy eyes, _Ms. Swan. Surely that's a trait Henry picked up from you, dear," Regina responded evenly.

"You have your equivalents," Emma persisted, her voice low.

"Such a big word," the Queen snarked, not quite knowing why she was insulting the blonde. A part of her, she knew - maybe all of her - needed to know if her apology - _You deserved better than that. You _deserve_ better than that - _was true, ran deep enough to hold even if challenged. Still, she was ashamed of her words before they left her mouth, something she wasn't accustomed to.

"Don't push me, Regina," Emma warned as her face flushed. Seeing Henry's look of panic and hearing dangerous ground being approached, Ruby swooped in, at great personal risk, she knew.

"Ladies, you realize neither of you should be taking each other seriously with that amount of whipped cream on your faces, don't you?"

To everyone's surprise - especially her own - Regina promptly leaned across the table and swiped the whipped cream off of Emma's nose, bringing it back and licking it clean off her finger.

Her voice was an octave lower as she locked eyes with the shocked Sheriff and asked, "Well, now that I can take you seriously, Ms. Swan, do you wish to continue our little bout? Or should I simply order you a bear claw and ice cream so your mouth will be too busy to attempt those poor efforts at insulting me that you undoubtedly find so witty?"

Unwilling to acknowledge the desperate arousal that was shuttling through Emma's entire body at Regina's voice, intensity, reference to her mouth, and suggestion of buying her food, the blonde merely blinked and wrenched her eyes away from the smoldering chocolate in Regina's. She turned to Ruby.

"A bear claw and ice cream sound great, Ruby. And can you also please bring the deposed Mayor some pralines 'n' cream?" She turned to Regina smugly. "Don't think I've never noticed you ordering the stuff every Wednesday night after you - " Emma stopped herself abruptly as Regina's eyes clouded. Three spoons froze in three young mouths, five sets of eyes flicking back and forth between the (former?) adversaries.

Henry's hand searched for Regina's under the table - Wednesday evenings were Regina's time for her father and Daniel's graves, and hereafter, Cora's, Henry imagined - as Emma murmured gently, "I'm sorry, I just thought you might like some. It's the closest thing to comfort food I've ever seen you eat, and I - "

"That's quite enough, Ms. Swan." Regina turned to ruby, ever the image of dignity, and in one blink, her tears were gone. "Can I please have an Irish coffee with that ice cream, Ruby?" Her eyes flashed back to Emma. "Strong."

* * *

Regina was fairly silent for the next half-hour, during which Emma entertained the children - who were questioning her eagerly about how the Enchanted Forest had been - with wild stories that everyone present knew had little to do with reality, but which were amusing nonetheless.

Regina noted with pride that in none of Emma's accounts did she include any true violence. Indeed, for all the blonde's usual lack of tact, she did a marvelous job at expanding what the children - especially Henry - assumed must be done with creatures like ogres and the undead. For all her stories' comical merits, Emma's had a common thread: the "bad guys" never died, always either befriending the "good guys," remaining neutral, or, at the very worst, running away in some amusing fashion.

Hoping against hope that Emma's redemptive tales had something to do with her - Henry seemed to think so, as he texted Regina under the table, saying, _Emma's entering Stage 3 all by herself! _- Regina reflected on the first time she recalled feeling a flutter of love for the Sheriff (beyond the very first moment she laid eyes on her). She realized her earlier explanation to Henry had been inaccurate. Not intentionally so: she refused to tell him any more lies. She realized with a jolt that the first time she felt a stirring of something other than caution, defensiveness, and rage towards the blonde was when she'd asked her, "How in the hell did you get like this?" No one had asked, since... _ever_. This woman, this surprise, this threat, this enemy, destined to break her Curse: this woman had been the first one who cared what had broken Regina into becoming whom everyone called the Evil Queen...

But love was weakness, so she fought her feelings, and the blonde herself, with not enough tooth and far too much nail. _What is different now?_

_Having Henry by my side_, she mused. She marveled at his excitement at having both his parents together at the same table. Realization struck her. She texted him back.

_You knew Emma would be here, didn't you?_

A pause. She watched a kind of pleasured guilt flit across his face as he typed his answer.

_Yep! I mean, Hansel really does love ice cream with pie, but Stage 2/3 of O.P. is going well, don't you think?_

Without apparent reason to those not privy to their typed conversation, Regina swiped her finger through her last scoop of ice cream and smeared it on her son's nose. His ensuing giggle-shriek and attempt to retaliate - which had Regina tickling him and the other two children, who had attempted to help their friend, and them trying to tickle her in return - left Emma and Michael open-mouthed.

Staring for a full minute at the children's frivolity - and trying not to wonder how happy Henry must have been with Regina before he found out he was adopted in a society that places biology over everything - Emma reached across the table and stole the last of Regina's ice cream. She ate it slowly as she watched Regina playing with the children, and could have sworn the smile on the Queen's face shined even brighter when she made chance eye contact with the blonde.

Unable to process the changes that had come over them all, the Sheriff got up and left silently, unnoticed by the children but very noticed by Regina. Mouthing her goodbye to Michael and leaving some money on the table, she slipped out the door, shaking her head in shock, into the chilly afternoon air.


	7. Chapter 7

"So what's next for Operation Phoenix, Henry?" Regina asked after they waved an animated goodbye to the Woodsman's family. She had had to work hard to rally her own confidence after Emma left without so much as a goodbye, but took her silence as confusion rather than rejection or revulsion. Being surrounded by children who seemed newly delighted with her presence and realizing that Emma had felt comfortable finishing her ice cream - she'd used her spoon, too - made her task easier. She found herself feeling just fine, considering... everything. "I see you've already been doing a great deal of undercover work," she noted, eyebrows raised. "I hope you're applying a similar amount of ingenuity to your science project," she teased.

"Well hey, it's been effective!" Henry retorted, a twisted smile on his face, avoiding Regina's question about his science project. She smiled at him softly, and his face became serious as he saw the exhaustion bleed through her eyes. He knew she hadn't been sleeping much, or well, since... well, he didn't want to think about it too much.

"I'm glad Emma apologized to you, Mom. I hope you apologize soon, too." He added that last part with a gentle earnestness that was somehow more encouraging than accusatory.

"She still would never believe me, Henry. You saw the way she ran away today, and I wasn't even doing anything to her at the moment." Henry nodded slowly, solemnly. He decided the atmosphere was getting too intense for what he was ready for. He was prepared to help his moms be happy, but wasn't quite ready to begin coping with all the damage Regina had done in her past. But he didn't want to push her too hard: not while the death - the _murder_, he reminded himself grimly - of Cora was still so fresh. He elected to change the subject.

"So Mom," he began, more brightly, "Ruby told me that part of a lake deep in the woods is mostly frozen over, good enough to skate on. How would you and Emma like to take my friends and me there for Grace's birthday on Friday?"

Regina blinked at the change of subject. :Oh honey, that sounds lovely, but I hardly think that Emma - or Jefferson, for that matter - would - "

"Mom," Henry interjected. He stopped walking and had painted a deadly-serious, Emma-esque expression onto his face. "Don't worry about that part. Puppy eyes, remember?" he teased her as his eyes grew wider and his lips began to pout.

Regina laughed, reveling in the feeling of having her son joke with her, desperately trying to still the quaking of her heart that reminded her that Cora never had - and now, never would have - such a moment with her child.

* * *

The former mayor, true to Henry's observation, remained awake all night and deep into the morning hours, replaying over and over and over again those few precious moments she'd had with Cora before she stopped breathing, that little life-destroyer running in, too late, to tell Regina to stop.

_Sanctimonious bitch_, she thought to herself, time and time again.

_But Snow didn't kill Daniel_, a voice chimed from deep within her. She pondered the feeling in her chest that had soared through her the first moment she realized that Cora was truly gone.

_Relief_.

The word alone made her skin crawl, and she wished she could physically open her body and scratch out every little feeling of relief that had risen like an unwanted sunrise in her heart when it hit her that Cora would no longer be able to harm anyone - harm her - ever again. Except, perhaps, through Regina's own rage and thirst for vengeance.

_Vengeance on whom?_ the agitating voice persisted.

But she_ couldn't_ blame Cora for killing Daniel. It _must_ be Snow's fault, it simply must. The girl whose father had taken everything from her and given her nothing. The girl who could not keep her secret. The girl with the wide eyes in whom Regina saw so much of herself when she was young: her saucer-eyed desire to be good, to be liked, to be loved. _To be parented_. In a way that was full of real love, not trauma.

_Real love_. That's what _she_ had told Regina to imagine, the words she'd used to manipulate her into murdering her own mother.

Regina shuddered, alone in her mansion with nothing but silk pajamas and cold blankets to keep her and her regrets company.

Unable to bear it, she slipped into Henry's bedroom, seeking comfort in the soft scent of his clothes, tinged slightly with Emma's scent, and the various lava lamps and constellation projections she always kept plugged in for him. A waste of energy, she knew, but she couldn't help herself.

Henry hadn't kept her deepest secret - her identity, the identity of everyone in Storybrooke, the reality of the Curse - private, either. He hadn't been coerced into revealing it to someone, either: he had done it all on his own, stolen the credit card of the original secret-breaker to seek out his mother and bring her back to break into her privacy, her comfort, her secret, her life, her victory.

And yet, all she could do was love him.

Snow had been Henry's age when she told, when she had enabled Cora to kill him... _Daniel_.

_Let me go._

And anyway, how could she believe that Cora hadn't known about Daniel without Snow's telling? She had, after all, killed Snow's mother, unbeknownst to Regina all these long, lonely, angry years.

_Then love again._

Regina made up her mind just as the sun began to streak a dark, inky velvet sky with clouds of red and orange. Taking a shaking breath, she let herself lay down in her son's bed and sleep for a couple of hours. She would need all her strength to do what she was about to do.

She prayed before sleeping that she didn't dream.

She did, and woke up sweating, panting, and screaming slightly, arms reaching out desperately for Emma.

She took a deep breath to recover herself. It would take every ounce of strength that she never knew she had to do what she was about to do.

She texted Henry and slipped shakily into the shower.

The way Henry told it, Emma had swore to Cora that love is _strength_.

For the first time in a very long time, she certainly hoped so.

* * *

Across town, Henry plopped down on Mary Margaret's bed, bowl of cereal in hand, as the sun began shining through the windows. She stirred, not wanting to scare him, but couldn't bring herself to smile. Henry's heart raced, but he tried desperately not to reveal his nerves. He offered her a tight-lipped smile and some of his breakfast. She shook her head weakly.

"Mary Margaret, you haven't eaten in days," her husband reminded her softly, hovering over Henry. The guilt-stricken woman merely closed her eyes in response.

A knock at the door.

Henry's heart leapt. Charming's brow furrowed as he went to answer it. Henry glanced at Emma, who was pouring herself coffee moodily. Charming opened the door.

"Get out," the three of them heard him say roughly.

"If you trust me alone in my home with Henry, Charming, surely you must trust me under your supervision?" Henry heard Regina ask, her tone open and genuine, with only a touch of disdain. Henry watched Emma's heart skip at the sound, the new voice. He suppressed a grin as he watched the blonde fumble with her coffee mug, manage to put it down, only spilling some of it, and walk over to the door, touching her father's shoulder gently.

"What do you want, Regina?" Her tone, too, only contained a trace amount of aggression. Henry couldn't help but be impressed with his work thus far, but his excitement and pride was constrained by knowing how difficult this was going to be for his mother.

He felt Mary Margaret flinch at the sound of his mom's name, and he took her hand gently. She squeezed. It hurt. He didn't mind.

"To help your mother," Regina responded evenly.

Henry felt rather than saw his younger mother blink.

"And _why_ would you want to do that?" she queried, her guard back up, sounding more like she used to when they would have their Mayor vs. Sheriff smackdowns.

A long pause. Henry's heart froze as Regina summoned up everything he had taught he in the past eleven years, and everything Emma had taught her in the past eleven months.

"Because her grief is hurting the only people she and I both truly care about."

A silence even more profound and elongated than the first one struck the room as Henry felt Emma catch her breath. Even his heart had skipped a beat at that: she had told him that she was going to stop by, but she'd been vague on details.

_Good morning, sweetheart. I am going to come over this morning before school to correct some errors I have made. I wanted to let you know._

_Cool. Is this about O.P.?_

_Yes and no. I believe this will help Operation Phoenix, but that is not the only, or even the first, reason I need to do it._

_Ok. What do you have in mind?_

He'd gotten no response. All but telling Emma she loved her wasn't what Henry had expected her to do, but he was excited nonetheless.

"If I may?" Regina persisted, denying Emma the opportunity to ask what the hell she meant, which she certainly looked on the verge of doing. Charming looked unsure and Emma looked nearly as shocked as Snow had said she looked when she was her first ogre. More, actually.

Giving his grandmother's hand a parting squeeze, Henry stood and strode to the doorway.

"My mom won't hurt her, guys." Charming looked at him quizzically. "Not in front of me, anyway. I'll stay."

"Kid, you have to go to school," Emma began, clearly happy to have the opportunity to say something parental and not at all dealing with what Regina had just said.

"My teacher's right here, and our sub is Katherine's husband, and it's just awkward," he shrugged, watching as David blushed slightly.

"Would you like me to help your mother or not, Ms. Swan?" Regina asked, a little testily, but without cruelty.

Emma searched her eyes for a few moments before stepping back and sweeping her hand forward, gesturing her into the apartment. She briskly crossed to her mother's bed.

"Mar - Sn - _Mom_, Regina's here to see you. She wants to help you. That okay with you?"

"Regina," Snow repeated, heaving herself into a sitting position, curling her knees up into her chest.

"Snow," her nemesis whispered, approaching the bed. "May I sit?"

"I killed your _mother_," Snow groaned. "Surely you don't have to _ask me_ to do something as benign as sit on my bed."

Regina fought the urge to roll her eyes, glanced at Henry for strength, and sat gingerly, knowing Emma was watching her every motion even more sharply than David, which was a large statement.

"You didn't kill my mother, Snow White. You manipulated her daughter into doing it for you."

Snow let out a sob as she nodded. Emma swooped down and touched Regina roughly on the shoulder, getting there before Charming could. "You said you wanted to _help_ her, Regina," she whispered fiercely.

Brown eyes bore into green. "Yes, and I don't intend to do that by sugarcoating the truth. Our son trusts me, Ms. Swan. You might want to start doing the same."

Disarmed by Regina's calling Henry _their _son, Emma released her shoulder and fell silent, chastised and stunned.

"You've killed before, Snow. I can name for you every single one of my guards and soldiers that - " she put her hands firmly over Henry's ears - "you've shot, stabbed, or otherwise slaughtered." She removed her hands and continued. "But I understand. You didn't know their names, their stories. You couldn't even see their faces. But you need to start accepting, Snow, that you've taken lives before that were no less important than... than my mother's."

"And how will accepting that _help_, Regina?" Snow asked, agonized, but Charming's heart leapt in hope: her tone sounded more like the enlivened Snow she used to be.

"Because you need to gain some perspective about all this, dear. You're only so devastated about Cora because you know someone of whom you can seek forgiveness, and I have refused you this." Henry's lips thinned sadly as he watched the pain surge across his mother's face as she spoke so evenly about her mother's murder.

"I _murdered_ her. No, I made _her daughter_ do it," Snow repeated.

"Yes, you did," Regina answered mildly, tear shining in her eyes. She paused for several minutes. No one moved, not even fidgety Emma, and Henry hardly breathed.

"But you did so because you were trying to protect your daughter. And I... I know the danger my mother posed, and the fear she inspired. I... I understand, Snow, even though I abhor you. You will always be the traitorous little girl whose loose lips and inability to keep a promise destroyed Daniel, but it was not you who delivered the final blow. You will always be the schoolteacher who made my son hate me for months, but it was not you who created the contents of that wretched book. And you will always be the sanctimonious ruler whose flaws everyone is eager to overlook. There is no 'but' for this one: that is simply who you will always be."

She looked at Henry, feeling somewhat spurred on by her own insertion of dry wit, and he nodded encouragingly, tears shining in his eyes. "But you will always always be the woman who is mother and grandmother to... to people I... to people I lo - wish to protect, and you did what you did to Cora to protect them. And as for the elements of revenge - for your mother and for Johanna - I am no one to begrudge you that, after I ripped your daughter away from a safe and happy childhood for the sake of _my_ revenge."

Emma's mouth had by this time almost hit the floor, her heart pounding wildly and her brain spinning in her skull; Charming was staring at Regina as though she had just confessed her love of rap and small, furry gerbils; Snow was blinking rapidly as though determined to break a realm record for blinks per minute; and Henry was observing it all with ecstatic glee that was breaking through his own shock, wringing his hands together to try to contain his excitement.

"Start living again, Snow. Your daughter and grandson deserve it."

Regina rose, hoping no one saw how violently her extremities were shaking. "I might have always longed for her real love, but I had it, for a few moments, in the end. As it was, Cora couldn't love me or care about Henry. She wanted to kill Emma. She needed to be stopped. You could have done it another way, but you can't end your life because you saw no other way to protect your family. Live again, Snow White. You're truly a dreadful adversary when there's no fight in you." Her eyes sparkled slightly as she uttered her last sentence drolly.

_She really needs to work on her sense of humor_, Henry thought wryly as she turned on her heel and walked briskly to the door, slipping past a stunned Charming and Emma to get there.


	8. Chapter 8

The clicking of Regina's heels faded down the hallway rapidly. Henry stared at each adult in the room in turn: tears weer streaming out of Mary Margaret's wide open eyes; David looked as though he'd been clubbed in the back of the skull by the hilt of a sword by his worst enemy (and in a way, he had been); and _Emma_.

Emma, Henry observed with pleasure, was staring at the door, where Regina had disappeared from, unblinking, and he could practically hear the gears spinning in her head.

"We're sure Cora's dead, right? Because that was _definitely _something she would do." Snow broke the silence, a tinge of hope lining her voice. Henry's stomach contorted uncomfortably at her words.

David looked thoughtful. "She _has_ faked her death before - "

"That was _Regina_," Emma interrupted sharply, still unblinkingly staring at the spot she had last seen the woman in question.

_I know that look._

_I know _her_._

_I believe her._

Snow scoffed. "Emma, I'm sorry, but she all but said she _loves_ you. Henry's one thing, but she - "

"Her True Love died," David added softly as his wife fumbled for words.

"Who says you can't have more than one True Love?" Henry chimed, throwing Emma a line: he might only be eleven, but he knew when someone was drowning.

"True Love has to be _reciprocated_, Henry," his grandmother reminded him, and he groaned internally. She'd certainly picked an awful time to begin contributing to conversations again. Her tone made it clear that she thought it was absurd to even fathom Emma having love for Regina. Henry desperately hoped Emma didn't pick up on it. She did.

"Uh, kid, why don't you go grab your bag and get yourself to school? I have a lot of things at the station to take care of - "

She grabbed her jacket unceremoniously, fire burning in her eyes, and followed quickly in Regina's footsteps as Charming unsuccessfully called her name after her.

He sighed deeply and turned to Henry. He squinted slightly at the calm concentration on the child's face. "Henry," he asked slowly. "Henry, what do you know? Did Regina tell you something? You know what's going on here, don't you, kid?"

Henry thought quickly, calculating rapidly. He knew Regina had almost said "love" by accident. She'd stopped herself and changed it to "protect" for a reason: she obviously wasn't ready to tell anyone else, and Henry wasn't about to disrespect that, to violate his mom's trust in him. He also knew that Emma was too scared and confused to accept it, but still, he didn't want Charming or Snow to continue to think - or worse, to convince Emma - that it was impossible for his adoptive mother to love his birth mother.

He gathered his thoughts quickly, suddenly grateful he'd been raised by such a skilled negotiator; she may not have seemed it as Queen, but the Regina that Henry knew - Mayor Mills - had a sharp intellect and keen political instincts, and used them instead of brute force to run an entire town virtually by herself for nearly three decades. It would have been a shame if he hadn't picked at least _some_ things up from her.

He took a calming breath and spoke slowly and clearly, with conviction beyond his years. "All I know is that Emma save me and broke the Curse with True Love's Kiss, but that doesn't mean she can't have another True Love, maybe a romantic one, some day. I don't think it's fair to assume my mom used up all her love on Daniel, especially because of how much she loves me, and how much she wanted her mom to love her."

Wanting to avoid further questioning, he dipped to scoop up his backpack and jogged lightly toward the door. Charming opened his mouth to stop him, but Henry preemptively told him, "I didn't go to the stables yet this morning; I have some horse poop to clean." He finished with a lopsided grin, perfectly calibrated to melt his grandparents' hearts. He backtracked to hug Snow tight, then Charming.

And then he, like his parents, was out the door before anyone could object or question him further.

* * *

"Regina!" Emma was hammering on the door of 108 Mifflin Street, unaware and unconcerned that it was making her hand ache. "Regina, open the goddamn door! I know you're in there!"

"Well now, Sheriff. Let's see, the last time you looked this angry on my porch, you vowed to keep my son away from me because of a murder I didn't commit. And now that I _haven't_ murdered your mother- helped her, in fact - you're here to... what? Indulge me, Ms. Swan: what _does_ the Charming Family Sheriff Station have in store for me this time?"

Emma's anger was terrifying her - hadn't she done something _right_ for once? - and rage at the amount of horror the blonde was capable of sending through her body burned through the older woman's reddened eyes as her knuckles whitened on the door frame, other hand braced to slam it in Emma's face.

"Could you just stop with the snark for one minute, Regina? _Jesus,_" Emma breathed irritably.

"Oh yes, Ms. Swan, I'll just switch off my every defense as you attempt to break down my front door," Regina deadpanned, utterly befuddled by Emma's behavior, but damned if she would let the blonde know that.

"You admit it's a defense, then?" Emma retorted, hope of opening this frustrating woman back up dancing in her eyes.

The brunette's jaw tightened slightly. "May I ask _why_ you were pounding so hard on my door, Ms. Swan?" Her tone was lighter now, resigned. She was more than aware of the redness in her eyes, courtesy of the long years she felt were now wasted, the lives tossed away, now that she was surrendering her quest for vengeance on Snow White.

"You were going to say 'love.' When you told Mary Margaret you want to protect Henry and I."

It was a statement, not a question, and it took all of Emma's strength to get it past her lips. But Regina Mills was never one to be intimidated by someone else's statements. She wouldn't - _couldn't_ - let Emma know the extent of her panic; the blonde had heard her near slip, and was calling her out on it, apparently angry. _No no no no no no no. See all the rewards I get for doing _good_?_

Not knowing what else to do - terrified that Emma was angry that she would presume love for her- Regina chose denial.

"I haven't the faintest idea what you're talking about, Ms. - "

"Save it, Regina, we all heard you - "

"Oh, yes, like you all saw me 'choking the life out of' Archie."

Emma froze, her resolve shattered. _Had_ she simply heard what she wanted to hear? _Wanted? Why on earth would I _want_ Regina Mills to say she loves me?_

"You know what, Regina, forget it. I just came over here to... I was confused and I just wanted to... I'm sorry for... I just wanted... whatever. Thanks for helping Mary Margaret: I imagine it was really hard for you. If it's worth anything, uh... I'm proud of you... uh... I'll... see you later. Henry's talking up a storm about this thing with his friends on Friday. So I'll see you then, I guess. I mean, I'd... I'd like to see you then."

With that, she unceremoniously backed off the porch, walking away as quickly as she could without letting Regina think she was scared. But in fact, she was terrified. Terrified of the passionate desperation she had for Regina to finish that word, that sentence, to tell her that yes, she cared about _her_, not just Henry; that she wanted to protect_ her_, not just Henry; that she loved...

The thought terrified her.

Her entire being felt suspended in the air along with the half-spoken word from the older woman's lips. She felt as though her very existence would be in suspension until Regina finished that thought - and she hated the control that gave someone else over her life with a venom - and she had no idea what would happen - or even what she wanted - if and when she did.

Neal had left her alone and pregnant and in prison, and every other love affair she'd had had ended as badly or worse, minus the pregnancy. She felt about as emotionally mature as Henry, and lately less so. She could barely manage to keep her own life in tact: what the hell could being loved by - _loving_ - the Evil Queen mean? _Not evil_, she reprimanded herself sternly.

And she had just found her parents. If they knew... if they knew what she dreamt of at night - and, increasingly, during the days - about their sown and mortal enemy, would they abandon her again as they had almost twenty-nine years ago? Her knowledge of them as people said no, but an entire lifetime of experiences and hopes gone sour said yes. She didn't even know how they'd react to the whole pansexual thing.

And anyway, if Regina meant it - if she really loved her - she would have said something just then, when confronted. Emma nodded numbly to herself as she resisted the desperate urge to go back and bang on the door again until Regina dropped her guard and just told her the damn truth already.

But how could she expect Regina to do that when her own walls were sky high and several miles thick?

She sighed, unaware - or unwilling to accept - that, still frozen in her doorway, Regina Mills was experiencing the same cascade of doubts and fears.

* * *

Across town, Snow and her husband were trying to figure out what had just occurred. They were getting nowhere until David took a deep breath and began: "Okay, so for argument's sake, let's assume Regina... let's assume Regina loves her."

"That's our _daughter_, David!" Snow protested. David smiled softly at her, beyond thrilled to see her up, dressed, and eating most of his pancakes.

"I know, I know." He held up his hands lightly. "But let's assume for a minute." Snow raised her eyebrows as she closed her eyes, inviting him to continue. "Now don't explode," he warned teasingly.

Snow's eyes snapped open. "Depends what you have to say, Charming," she said, half warningly, half-flirtatiously.

"Do you really think it's so unfathomable that Emma might love her, too?" He touched her arm to stop the impending outburst. "Just listen for a moment, please. Before the Curse broke, Ruby used to tease Emma, in front of me, about... well, you know..." His cheeks shaded pink and Snow smiled despite herself.

"What?" she prompted.

"Emma would..." David bounced his head around a little, waiting for his wide to figure it out. She didn't. "You know, check her out."

"_Regina?!_" David looked around the apartment instinctively as though she had spoken too loudly; and, indeed, he felt as though she might have punctured his ear drum.

"Yes, Regina," he whispered unnecessarily. He chanced a grin. "Come on, Snow, you've never noticed - "

"Her ass? Her cleavage? Her perfect face and fair? Yes, of course I have, I have a sex drive, don't I?!" This came out in a single rush of breath, high-pitched, defensive.

David grinned broadly. "I was about to ask if you'd never noticed _Emma_ looking at her," he told her cautiously.

Snow White turned a gleaming red. "Oh."

David chuckled. Snow sat up straighter, tossing a few short strands of hair out of her face.

"Well, what do you propose we do? _Our_ daughter and the _Evil _Queen?" Her eyebrows almost scraped the ceiling.

"I think we have to start considering that she may not be evil anymore, Snow... On pains of death, she refused to apologize. And now that she has her son clearly loving her again, with no need to do so, she comes here to comfort _you_? I think we have to consider the possibility that - "

"That the _Queen_ loves our _daughter." _Her eyes locked into her husband's as though wishing to see a joke revealed in their depths. Finding none, she nodded briskly. "And we should..."

"Do nothing. Emma may be our daughter, Snow, but she's her own woman and we need to let her figure out... whatever this is... on her own."

Snow sighed, letting her eyes flutter closed, nodding.

"Fancy some horseback riding?" she asked him, stretching as she stood up. "I've cooped myself up in here for too long."

He smiled but hesitated. "I should help Emma at the station - "

"She's her own woman and we need to let her do her job on her own," Snow mimicked his words back at him. They left the apartment laughing together.

* * *

Emma waved to them from her squad car as she drove down their street, away from Regina's mansion. Her mind spun as she took in the sight of Snow, inconsolable for days, laughing.

_Regina did that_, she mused, and swerved the car absentmindedly. Guilt surged through her for letting herself go to Regina's with all her emotions pouring out like that. Well, not _all_ her emotions, a small voice reminded her. Just the scared, confused ones that look and feel an awful lot like rage when your defenses are up.

She sighed. Maybe the kid's ice skating idea wasn't so bad. Get her and Regina on neutral ground again. _Will I run again?_ she asked herself frustratedly, remembering how she panicked at Granny's with Regina and the kids the day before. She remembered the beauty that had flashed across the Queen's face when she'd let the laughter reach her eyes. _Is that what I ran from?_

Knowing the answer, she took a hard swallow and promised herself she'd stop running. _For Henry_, she reasoned.

_For Henry. Riiiiight_, another voice popped up inside her.

She shushed it with an aggressive slamming of the door as she swept out of the car and into the station, in what was, unbeknownst to her, a quite Regina-esque stomp.

* * *

It had taken all of her carefully honed skills of self-control - _of protection_, she reminded herself - not to call after the blonde as she walked away. She had stared at her retreating figure, lithe and tense, wishing she could soothe the terrified fears the younger women had obviously come to her door with. _Is it that repulsive to think I might love her?_ she wondered sadly. But she _had_ said she was looking forward to seeing her...

She knew what Henry would say: he would remind her sternly that Emma wasn't repulsed: she was scared - maybe even as scared as Regina was - to love again, to let herself be loved.

Love may be strength, he would remind er, but letting yourself love and be loved sure requires a lot of vulnerability. And vulnerability wasn't exactly the blonde's style.

_It's hardly mine, either_, Regina huffed to herself as she slipped into the riding clothes that Emma had been so enamored of, _but I went there and said what I said regardless_. She sighed, hoping a good, long, hard ride would help rid her of some of her nervous tension. She closed her eyes and poofed herself into the stables, hardly in the mood to run into anyone along the way.

* * *

The purple smoke that marked Regina's arrival in the stables didn't surprise Henry, but Snow jumped violently.

"Regina," she whispered apologetically.

Regina's eyes widened. Henry stepped forward and took her hand, swiping his thumb across the back of it as she so often did to him. She jumped at the connection. He explained everyone's presence, knowing she needed an explanation to keep her mind away from Daniel.

"I came to take care of Elphie," he gestured toward the horse he was closest with, "and Gramps and Grandma just got here to take a ride..."

Regina nodded at him, tears staining her forced smile. "Well then, I'll just - "

"No, Regina, stay. Ride. Please," Snow implored. "I'm sorry," she whispered.

Regina's eyes pierced the younger woman's as she focused on Henry's hand in hers.

"As you should be." He voice was deathly low. She wrenched out of their eye contact and looked down at Henry. "Would you like to ride to school with me, Henry?" His eyes lit up, and Charming studied Regina's face carefully.

"Yeah!" He crashed into her midsection in a big hug before they strode past the perpetually stunned couple and Regina helped Henry swing onto Lirr behind her (Elphie wasn't ready to ride with Henry yet).

As they trotted out of the stable, the growing relaxation and joy evident on both of their faces, Snow called after them.

"What did you mean, Regina? About loving Emma?"

If Henry hadn't had to hold onto his mom to keep his balance, he would have facepalmed. Regina put one hand behind her to stabilize Henry, then squeezed her thighs and urged Lirr to turn sharply, so she could face her adversary.

"I learned a long time ago to not share the particulars of my love life with you, Snow White. And I may have ceased my quest for vengeance on you, dear, but that hardly means it's advisable for you to push your luck with me."

The couple caught her satisfied smirk as she swooped back around and took off at a slow gallop.

A long silence filled the stables. Charming broke it.

"Yep. She's got it bad for our daughter."

"Let's just ride," Snow groaned, amused despite herself.


	9. Chapter 9

**Thank you all soooo much for all the humbling and sweet reviews! Points to izzy95 and MsCrazybird for getting the Wicked references in the last chapter ;)**

**Hope you continue to enjoy (and spread the love by reviewing :-P )!**

* * *

_It was dark, and silent but for the sound of sobbing. Emma was grateful that the door didn't creak when she opened it: but of course it wouldn't. Creaking doors simply were not something Regina Mills would accept in her house._

_The brunette jumped as Emma put her arms around her shoulders - which itself was an accomplishment, as Regina was curled in a fetal position on her bed, body wracked with tears - but relaxed as Emma cooed comfort into her ears and left kisses across her temples and jawline._

_Regina turned her tear-stained face to the blonde._

_"Why are you here, Ms. Swan? You realize I'm a big girl and don't require _saving_, don't you?"_

_"I'm not here to save anyone, Regina. Only you can help or save yourself. I'm here because I can't imagine being anywhere else. I don't_ want_ to imagine being anywhere else. Unless you want me to leave. If you do, I will."_

_Emma took Regina's silence as disapproval, or at least indecisiveness, and, afraid of pressuring her, began disentangling their bodies so she could leave. She felt a tug at her waist. She looked down to see Regina's hand disappearing under her shirt._

_"Stay," Regina whispered._

_Emma smiled softly, her own tears surfacing. "I'd love to kiss you right now. If you want me to. If you don't, I - "_

_"Too much talking, not enough kissing," Regina murmured as she pulled Emma's face into her with one hand, the other still exploring the hot skin under her shirt. And lord, did it feel good._

_Regina's full lips collided with Emma's as her tongue slipped out of her mouth to dance with the blonde's, their union becoming more heated as Emma groaned at the feeling of Regina exploring her mouth._

_The brunette's hand roughly slid up to cup Emma's breast, tugging her shirt up and off with graceful desperation, an exquisite groan of her own escaping Regina's mouth as she brought her lips, tongue, and teeth down Emma's exposed neck to her collar bone, chest, abs..._

_Emma's head fell back as she moaned her ecstasy, fingers fumbling with Regina's pencil skirt, finally finding her fiery, soaking core, asking with her eyes if Regina wanted her to come inside. Answering by grabbing the blonde's wrist and shoving it down further, granting the younger woman fuller access to her cunt, Regina bit down on Emma's belly. The Sheriff screamed slightly, the heady combination of fucking her love and what Regina's tongue and teeth were doing to her entire body very nearly causing her to come undone..._

"Emma? Emma? Hello? Emma? Earth to Emma!"

The blonde's entire body jolted forward from where she had been leaning back, dozing in her chair in the sheriff's station.

"Henry!" Her voice was strangled and strangely high-pitched, and she shifted positions uncomfortably.

"Uh, are you ok?" Henry asked, concern plastered all over his face.

"Yeah, kid, I'm uh... I'm fine. What's up?"

He looked at her as though she were not quite in her right mind. She remembered her dream - vividly - and thought he might be right.

"Uh, I just wanted to have lunch with you. They let us do that outside of school now, remember? And you... told me to come by?"

Emma shook her head roughly, trying to focus on Henry's voice and face instead of on the exquisite feeling of her fingers swirling and pumping inside his other mother's cunt...

"Emma? You in there?"

She snorted at the pun he didn't know he made. He furrowed his brow at her in a most Regina-like way. "Sure, kid. Lunch. Right. Granny's?"

Henry nodded, having being hoping she'd say that, still looking at her concernedly. He thought confidently of the texts he'd exchanged with Regina that morning.

_Hi Mom. I'm going to have lunch with Emma today. Want to join?_

A three minute wait.

_I'm not sure Emma would welcome my presence, sweetheart. I don't want to push her too fast._

_She needs to realize you've changed. Come on, please? Don't be afraid. I won't let O.P. sink._

A twelve minute wait.

_Alright, Henry. I'll see you both at Granny's at lunchtime._

They walked out of the Sheriff's office hand-in-hand, Henry with a slight skip to his step. "My mom's gonna be there, too, Emma; is that ok?"

He felt her hand twitch, but to her credit, he could tell she was trying to play it cool.

"Uh, thought it was just you and me today, kid?"

Henry shrugged innocently. "You have lots of people to hang out with: your parents, Ruby, Belle, me. Everyone, really, because you're the Savior and everyone loves you. Mom..." He trailed off, sadness that was too old for him tainting his face. She sighed internally.

"Got it. You're right." A long silence. Henry waited, knowing what was on his mom's mind. "Henry, I've been meaning to ask you..." She sighed, out loud this time. "Do you know what your mom meant yesterday? About Mary Margaret's sadness hurting the only people she cares about? Because she definitely didn't mean Charming, so..."

Henry looked up at his younger mother, carefully balancing what she was ready for.

"She cares about you, Emma. Of course she does. You gave birth to me, after all."

He watched her carefully. She looked crestfallen, and his heart leapt excitedly. She would only be disappointed with that if he was right, and she shared Regina's feelings... right?

"But that's not all it is," he said, deliberately vaguely, before running off into Granny's to greet Regina.

Emma froze; blinked; swallowed; and stepped forward to play it cool and act like her son had not just rocked her world.

* * *

"Are you excited about the party for Grace tomorrow afternoon, Henry?" Regina asked as they sat down.

He nodded eagerly. "It's going to be _great_. We invited Hansel and Gretel, and the Lost Boys - did you know they know Neal? - and Ruby's coming with Belle - "

"Talking about the party, kid?" Ruby asked as she brought them all water, her eyes aglow at seeing the three of them out together.

"Yup! Emma said she's never ice skated before, so it should be great - "

"Or a trip to the hospital waiting to happen," Regina murmured, and Emma tossed a bunched up napkin at her. Ruby and Henry almost squeed.

Regina took advantage of Emma's attention to Henry's tales about school to stare at the blonde.

Emma took advantage of Regina's ordering to ogle at her.

Henry took advantage of their stealing glances at each other to wink at Ruby, who returned it with gusto.

* * *

"I can help you with that science project if you'd like, you know, Henry. As much as magic is about emotion, it's also about chemistry, and if you wish, I can show you how to create some reactions that will really wow your classmates _and_ help you learn a lot."

Emma started, jolted out of her staring: which was a good thing, really, because she'd almost started to drool. "You want to teach our kid _magic_?"

The shutters behind Regina's eyes snapped closed. "_Chemistry_, Ms. Swan. For his _science _project. You might want to pay attention to what I'm saying instead of - " - she slipped her hands over Henry's ears - "staring down my blouse every chance you get. You might find something worthwhile about interacting with me other than my _body_."

She removed her hands from Henry's head and seethed in silence. Emma stammered. "Regina, please, that's not what I was - "

But Regina's eyebrows shot up, shutting down Emma's ability to lie. She _had_ been looking. She sighed and tried again, remembering how humble Regina had been when she came to Snow's apartment yesterday, how difficult and humiliating it must have been for her. "You're an amazing woman, Regina. I didn't mean to disrespect you. I uh... I just misunderstood. I'm... I'm sorry. If you wanna teach Henry chemistry, then I'm sure he'll have the best project in the whole damn school."

"_Language_, Ms. Swan," Regina whispered, mollified. _She said I'm an amazing woman..._

Henry breathed again.

"So, kid, what's up with you and this Hansel guy? You like him or something?" Regina raised her eyebrows at where Emma's mind went immediately after locking eyes so intensely with hers, apologizing to her. She turned to Henry, however, because she was interested in his answer, too.

He stopped breathing... again. _I might need some extra help learning to deal with all this extra breathing difficulty if Operation Phoenix continues to be a success... maybe Ruby can help me... werewolf and all... _The sound of Emma clearing her throat brought him back to the moment.

"I, uh... I don't know... I feel different about him than I feel about the other kids. I don't know if I'm gay or whatever, like you guys, but uh... I like how he makes me feel, and I hope I make him feel good, too. We'll see." He shrugged, the ghost of a grin on his face, pleased with the bomb he had just dropped on his moms.

Emma and Regina exchanged open-mouthed glances. "Henry, what gave you the impression we're ga- "

He grinned wickedly, rising from his seat. "Gotta go." He pointed to Jefferson, who was walking past outside. "Last minute planning for tomorrow!"

He swept outside, Ruby shaking her head happily as he did. "Sneaky bastard," she whispered, having heard everything and loving his style.

* * *

"Are you out to him?" Emma asked, one eyebrow cocked.

"I don't have a preference as to the gender of my lovers, Ms. Swan. Henry is aware of this: I raised him without the petty prejudices and binaries that his _book_ so willingly espouses."

Emma's cunt caught fire: she'd never heard Regina say the word 'sex' before, and it captivated her powerfully.

She nodded, trying desperately to play it cool. _When had she and Regina ever had an actual conversation? And now that they were, it was about their _sexuality, _of all things__? _Life had become far too weird since she came to Storybrooke.

"Cool. I'm pan, too." _Shit, what the hell do I say now? _She forced herself to press on awkwardly. "I'm uh... I'm glad you raised him like you did, Regina. Lots of kids are homophobic shits." Her eyes disappeared somewhere far away and long ago. Regina tilted her head as she watched her. Her heart ached agonizingly.

"I'm sorry you had to experience... whatever you did that taught you that about some children. I'm afraid I'm responsible for - "

"You didn't put me in the wardrobe, Regina," Emma interrupted softly.

"But I was the reason they carved one in the first place," she whispered, her hands shifting to the center of the table between them.

Emma stared at her hands. _So gorgeous_. She reached out halfway to touch them, to lace her fingers through hers, to take some of her grief from her, if Regina wanted her to, would let her.

Her phone rang obnoxiously, causing both women - whose hearts were racing far faster than either of them would ever admit - to jump sky high. Emma answered it rapidly, offering an apologetic grimace to Regina, who instantly had retracted her hands, sitting up ramrod straight.

"Yeah?" _At least she's irritated_, Regina thought frustratedly. And hopefully.

"Yeah, be there in five." She snapped her phone shut and gave Regina a small smile. "Sorry, it was Archie. Pongo's run off and he needs help finding him."

"Surely there's the animal shelter for that?" Regina was back in Mayor mode, and Emma's heart sank.

"Not since David remembered he's Prince Charming and the other folks who were working there remembered who _they _were." Emma rose, grabbing her jacket. She turned back, struck by an idea.

"Hey Regina, why don't you take that place over? You love animals, don't you? Horses and all that?"

Regina's heart melted at her insight. "I'm not entirely sure the town would trust me with their beloved creatures. But it's a... pleasant idea, Ms. Swan, and perhaps we can discuss it when you're not quite so busy rescuing Pongo... again."

Emma gave her a small smile, an awkward half-wave, and disappeared. Ruby appeared at Regina's side.

"You know, Madam Mayor, she's never had eyes for anyone else in this town. I'm just sayin'." She cleared her plates with a wink.

Regina gave her an extra large tip.

* * *

"Jefferson! Wait up!" Henry called after him.

The man stopped with a groan, but didn't turn around. Henry jogged up behind him.

"Grace tells me you don't want my mom at her party tomorrow night."

"Well now, Henry, though she did whack me over the head with my own telescope, I've agreed to see past that for my dear Grace and - "

"Not Emma. You know which mom I'm talking about." Henry crossed his arms over his chest Emma-style.

Jefferson rolled his eyes and looked away. "Your mother," he bent down, whispering passionately, "is the reason I was without my Grace for twenty-eight _years_, kid."

Henry shook his head firmly. "The Evil Queen separated you two. But my mom is a different person now. Let her come to the party. You'll see."

Jefferson straightened up and laughed humorlessly, beginning to walk away. "No can do, kid."

"You owe me!" Henry called out evenly. Jefferson froze again, turning slowly on the spot.

"And _how_ do you figure that? Why would _I_ owe you _anything_?"

"Because if it weren't for me, you wouldn't have gotten up the courage to find Grace. You would still be scared she hated you, and you never would have been reuinited with her."

Jefferson still looked on the proverbial fence. Henry dropped the cocky confidence and went with emotional earnesty. "You knew her before she did horrible things, Jefferson. You helped create her into what she became. You _know_ who she has the potential to be. Please. I helped you get your family back. All I'm trying to do is bring back _mine_."

For a moment, Jefferson looked deeply moved. Then his eyes lit up manically.

"You're trying to set up your moms, aren't you, kid?" He read the answer in Henry's face. "Ah HA!" he squealed. "Oh, this will be just _delightful!_ Sure kid, bring both your moms along. The Evil Queen and the _Savior_. Ah HA!"

He giggled some more, gliding off down the street without saying goodbye to Henry, who shook his head at Jefferson's oddities and skipped back to school.


	10. Chapter 10

**The song used below is Overjoyed, by Matchbox 20. It's perfect for them! I hope you think so, too, and that you like the ice skating party (finally!)!**

* * *

Henry fidgeted horribly for the last half hour of school, looking for all the world like Emma in the last few minutes before 5 o'clock. He ran to Grace's classroom as soon as the bell rang, birthday balloons bouncing from the strings in his hand. He'd come in extra early to stow them in his classroom before anyone else got to school, so she wouldn't see them.

"Happy birthday, Grace!" he, Hansel, and Gretel shouted merrily as Grace laughed heartily, delighted. She hugged each of them in turn. Excited chatter filled the hallways as the children gathered their things before meeting their parental units at the edge of the forest. Henry and Hansel held hands tentatively on the long walk as Gretel shared several knowing, happy looks with the birthday girl.

* * *

Emma pulled up at the designated spot with her parents, many pairs of children's and adults' ice skates scattered in a couple of duffel bags on the shoulders of Snow and Charming. The trio joined Ruby and Belle - opening herself up to forming new friendships in lieu of remembering old ones - and some of the older Lost Boys. Neal was amongst them, and Regina's stomach boiled as she parked off to the side, hovering awkwardly twenty or so feet away from the rest of the adults.

No one noticed her presence but Emma, who offered her a wave and gestured her forward. Regina shook her head slightly as Jefferson and Michael joined the group.

Archie came along with Pongo - found easily by Emma the day before - just in time to see the blonde detach herself from the Charming family unit to stride over to the brunette. He smiled softly to himself, reflecting on the conversation he'd had with Henry at his therapy session yesterday.

_So, remember how successful Operation Cobra was? Well, there's a new one, and I need you on board, Archie. It's Operation Phoenix, and the goal is to get my moms together._

_A silence. Then:_

_Henry, you want to... to 'parent trap' your mothers? That's a... a laudable goal, Henry, but I don't see how I could possibly be of any help._

_Ask Mom about her love life in therapy, if you don't think she'll bite your head off. Or just... just _watch_ them together, Archie. They _belong_ together. They love each other, I know they do, but they're both scared. I think if you and I both watch them, we can figure out how to help them be less scared._

_Oh, Henry, I think they're the best people to do that._

_But will you help if something comes up and I need you? Pleeease?_

_Another silence, and a smile. A memory of the concern flashing across Emma's face when Regina left that party, alone and unannounced. _

_Of course I will._

__"I see you found Pongo," Regina offered as a greeting when Emma was within conversational range.

The blonde nodded awkwardly. "He's never too hard to find. You're uh, not going to stay off to the side the whole time, are you?"

_Archie made a cake. You don't want to stay for a piece?_

"I think Henry would want you to - "

"This isn't Henry's party, Sheriff," Regina reminded her softly.

Emma frowned. "I don't think Grace is the type to hold a grudge, and I'll protect you from Jefferson."

Both of their hearts leapt as Emma realized what she said. Regina opened her mouth and found her voice trapped inside her throat.

The sound of a gaggle of pre-teens approaching saved both women the awkwardness of a continued conversation. They strode back to the larger group together, greeting Henry happily.

Snow watched critically as their hands touched when Henry hugged them both at once, the way their fingers lingered on each other as they wished Grace a happy birthday. The way they jumped apart when they realized that they'd almost been holding hands.

Ruby nudged her in the ribcage. "Cute couple, don'tcha think?" she asked her best friend.

Snow groaned. "Not you, too."

"Oh, you know it, Snow," Ruby responded with a wicked grin.

* * *

A short hike, led by Ruby, opened the forest up into a gorgeous and surprisingly large lake, crystallized with cold and tinged with a majestic mauve, beautifully offsetting the rich green of the surrounding trees.

Everyone's breath was taken away at the sight, which was complete with a soundtrack of hawks screeching overhead and crickets chirping in nearby bushes.

"Why is it purple?" Hansel asked softly.

"Magic," Regina chimed from the back of the group. "It's not cold enough to be frozen naturally: it must have frozen when magic came to Storybrooke."

"Is it safe?" Charming asked, still staring at the captivating sight.

Regina nodded, stepping to the edge of the lake and running her hands over the surface. "Except there," she pointed to her left. She rose and turned to face the group. "Children, you must not skate beyond..." She paused and waved her hand, drawing a dark blue mark over a portion of the lake. "... that line. That's where the magic ends, and the water - while nearly freezing - is just that: water, and not solid ice. Understood?"

The children nodded obediently as they plopped down on the ground to put on their ice skates, which Snow and Charming were happily distributing. A hand on Regina's lower back made her jump. The hand retracted quickly.

"Sorry, it was just me," Emma said quickly.

"Quite alright, dear," Regina told her, her voice clipped with nerves.

"Just wanted to ask you if you were going to skate with us. I've been ice skating a few times: I'm not great, but it's fun."

"Indeed," Regina agreed. "We had a lake similar to this where I grew up. When it froze over in the winter, I would go skating at night as the stars came out..." Regina gazed out at the lake fondly. Screams of delight from the first children heading out onto the lake made her start and snap back to the present. "Yes, Ms. Swan, I'll be skating with you."

"You uh... going in those clothes? No offense, Regina, but if you fall in that - " Emma gestured to Regina's pencil skirt.

"I don't fall," Regina deadpanned.

"I bet you don't," Emma muttered under her breath as she plopped clumsily down on the floor to pull on the skates Snow had brought for her.

"Excuse me?" Regina asked, insisting on changing into her majestically white skates while remaining standing.

"Nothing," Emma answered, her voice cracking as she took in the sight of Regina's legs slipping into her skates.

Regina hid her smile as she turned away, gliding effortlessly onto the ice, swishing her ass back and forth as she gathered speed for the blonde's benefit. She caught up to Henry quickly, holding her hand out for him as he wobbled slightly. Emma simply sat for a few stunned moments, staring at the brunette's grace and surprising strength in holding their son up from his many near-spills.

"Emma, come on!" Charming shouted from the ice, swerving horribly next to an unstable-looking Snow.

"What a family," Emma murmured contentedly as she scrambled up to join them.

* * *

She did a few passes 'round the lake with Archie, causing Neal to raise his eyebrows jealously. _Little does he know_, Emma thought amusedly.

Archie caught her staring at Regina and Henry enough times to make him feel justified in mentioning it.

"Emma, you know, if you'd like to go join Henry and Regina, I won't take any offense." His tone was mild, but she knew there was more buried in what he was saying. She glanced at him as Gretel and Grace swerved by, laughing hysterically.

"Not yet. I like watching them together... Is that creepy?" She'd never had a therapist-patient relationship with Archie, but she considered him a friend, and hoped he would answer her as a friend, not as a doctor. He didn't let her down.

"Of course not, Emma. He's your son. And she's your... well, she raised him..." he trailed off deliberately.

Emma looked at him again, eyes wide open. "What do you know that I don't, Archie? She's been acting... I don't know... she apologized to Snow, Henry's suddenly all over her, and she's been... I think she's been _flirting_ with me..."

Archie smiled. This would be easier than he thought. He watched silently as Snow and Charming collapsed on the ice, nearly on top of each other. Emma turned away from the sight, more interested in the fact that Jefferson and Michael had started holding hands. She awaited Archie's answer nervously.

"I can't betray Regina's trust, Emma. I've done that before, and I'm not repeating that mistake. But I can tell you that... she has seemed a great deal happier - what I've seen in out of the office observations, you understand - recently. Which is surprising, considering everything that's happened with her mother... I think having people who genuinely care about her is helping her a great deal."

Emma lurched backward, and Archie reached out his hand to steady her. "People?" she inquired, gripping his hand too firmly.

"It's no secret that you care for her, Emma. Everyone can see it: you saved her, over and over, when no one else would. And you clearly - "

"Emma! Come on! Skate with Mom and me!" Henry grabbed Emma by the hand and swung her along with them. The blonde turned back to Archie as Henry's touch propelled her forward, a lopsidedly apologetic grin on her face. He laughed and went off to join Ruby and Belle.

Regina glanced over at Emma over Henry's head. "You skate rather better than I expected you to, Ms. Swan," she said, her voice laced with relaxation.

Henry squeezed her hand, and Regina squeezed back. He decelerated suddenly, pulling their hands together as he did so. When he saw their hands connect, he smiled and skated off in the opposite direction. "See you later, guys! Grace, Hansel, wait up!"

Electricity crackled through their fingers as they connected, neither wanting to pull away. They chose to ignore the fact that they were holding hands as Henry toppled over upon catching up with his friends, bringing them down with him. They laughed as the pile of kids tried and failed to get up, giggling too hard to steady themselves.

"How did you skate in the dark?" Emma asked.

"I'm sorry?" Regina responded, clearly confused.

"Oh uh..." Emma seemed uncharacteristically embarrassed, and suddenly Regina couldn't tell if the red tinge in her cheeks was the cold or her blushing. "You said you would skate at night, when you were a kid..."

"Ah," Regina said simply, happily processing the fact that Emma not only actually listened to her, but thought about what she shared. "You forget that the stars and the moon in unpolluted atmospheres shine much brighter than they can in most places in this realm, Ms. - "

"Emma." The blonde's grip on Regina's hand tightened as Regina swerved unexpectedly with this intensity of Emma's interruption. "If we're going to really raise our kid together, calling me by my name can't hurt, Regina."

"_Emma_," Regina whispered in response, her eyes boring into Emma's. It was the blonde's turn to slip, and Regina's turn to catch her. Emma's sense of balance went haywire, her skates turning haphazardly towards the older woman, stumbling into her body, their lips mere inches from each other.

Neither woman noticed the spill that Snow and Charming took upon noticing this. Neither woman cared.

Emma's eyes flickered down to Regina's mouth as Regina's made the same journey across Emma's face.

"Emma," Regina whispered again. "I - "

A scream from across the lake shattered Regina's words and their contact. The women jumped apart tensely as they both realized it wasn't just any scream. It was Henry's.

* * *

They were across the lake in moments, Regina getting there before Emma. Henry was flat on his stomach on the blue line Regina had drawn, his hands flailing about in the broken ice.

Regina was in the icy water before Henry could finish his panicked explanation about how Hansel had taken a spill too close to the line, and - unable to stop himself - had fallen into the depths below.

"He doesn't know how to swim!" Gretel's voice joined Henry's as the sound of dozens of skates scraping the ice, converging near the blue line, grated in Emma's ears. She held Henry back as she desperately watched the water - which was so deep and dense with broken ice that she couldn't see more than a foot down - waiting for Regina and Hansel to surface.

The child's head broke the surface first, spluttering and shivering violently. His hands groped for Henry's, who pulled him as Emma stabilized her son's body so he wasn't pulled forward. Strong hands emerged under Hansel's underarms as Regina pushed him back onto the solid ice.

"Regina!" Emma shouted as Gretel and Michael took over responsibility for helping the child breathe more evenly and get warm.

She thrust out her arms for the brunette, who grabbed her wrists gratefully.

"Come on, baby, you've got it," Emma murmured as she helped pull Regina to safety, yanking her up the final bit so that the older woman fell square on top of her.

Freezing water dripped onto Emma's face. She didn't notice. She wrapped her arms around Regina and stayed there, frozen, but not by the ice. She was roused only by Regina's coughing and spluttering for breath. Emma rolled her over gently so they could both sit up, sliding off her jacket and scarf and moving to strip Regina of her own outer garments so she could replace them with her drier ones.

"Don't be ridiculous, Sheriff," Regina wheezed, refusing her clothes and crawling over to Hansel. She leaned over him and asked, "Hansel, I have a spell that can make you warm again. Is it alright if I use it on you? It won't hurt, I promise." The boy looked wildly at Henry, whose hands he was holding, and Henry nodded rapidly. Hansel mirrored the nod at Regina, who promptly waved her wrist at him. Steam hissed off of his body as his clothes dried and heated and his hair fluffed up. Regina smiled at the effect as Michael and Gretel hugged Hansel in deep relief.

"Thank you," Michael mouthed to Regina over his son's head. Regina, still shaking with cold, nodded curtly, shakily.

"Do that spell thing to yourself," Emma encouraged her.

"Call me 'baby' again and I just might," Regina said as silkily as she could through chattering teeth.

Emma flushed.

"Regina, I slipped, I didn't mean to - "

"Not at all, dear," Regina interrupted as steam began pouring off of her body, as well. She held her hand out to Emma questioningly: her front was fairly soaked, too. Emma nodded, and felt a warm surge of relief flood through her.

* * *

It took a full half hour or so for everyone to stop feeling quite so shaken by Hansel's fall into the water, and no one was in too much of a skating mood anymore. Hansel wouldn't stop apologizing to Grace, who was insisting that the best birthday present was to be with her papa and her friends, and that included Hansel; and he didn't fall in on purpose, anyway, so he hardly had anything to apologize for. Jefferson smiled proudly at his daughter as his arm slipped firmly, comfortingly, around Michael's shoulders.

The group decided on Granny's as a nice end to Grace's birthday festivities. Regina hesitated at the door.

"Come on, Mom," Henry said as he and Hansel crossed the threshold of the restaurant. "You're the hero of the day, after all." He gave her a smile she could never resist, and she followed him in.

She hesitated again, however, when Henry sat with Grace on one side of him, and Hansel on the other. For a moment, she looked like a lost bunny staring into a coyote's eyes as she rapidly scanned the restaurant for somewhere to sit.

"Regina!" Emma called. She was sitting alone at a table with Archie, near to the children, but separate, so that they could have their own fun without too much grown-up interference.

A smile formed across Regina's face as she gratefully - and excitedly: Henry was really quite good at this Operation Phoenix business - walked over to Emma.

The blonde stood and pulled out the chair across from her. "Your Majesty," she said grandly, a lopsided grin on her face. Regina raised one eyebrow, amused but skeptical.

Emma pouted. "Come on, Regina: you saved Hansel's life an hour ago, the least you deserve is to have someone pull out a damn chair for you."

Archie chuckled as Regina sat primly.

"Well, what about you, Ms. Swan? You know where I've ice skated before. Yourself?"

Emma shrugged noncommittally. "Around," she murmured. Archie looked at his silverware as Regina studied the woman in front of her. She nodded, understanding her hesitance to share better than anyone else could.

Regina decided that sharing herself might help Emma feel more comfortable. "When I first learned - I taught myself, you know - I fell in, as well. I nearly caught my death. It was the only time my mother ever used magic for good when I was a child. She must have heard my flailing around in the water after a while, and she magicked me out, warmed me as I did Hansel. I was under for a long time, though. It was terrifying. It took me a whole season to get up the courage to try again."

Emma frowned. "Cora let you ice skate by yourself when you were just a kid?" Regina raised an eyebrow. "Never mind," Emma backpedaled. "Stupid question."

To her surprise, Regina smiled softly. "I was usually alone as a child. As were both of you, I imagine."

"And now we're all here together," Archie chimed in contentedly, quietly.

"Indeed," Regina whispered as the three misfits turned to watch the children laugh, delighted with their party.

* * *

Emma and Regina found themselves standing next to each other when Granny brought out a massive cake for Grace's happy birthday song. As everyone else cheered at the end of the song, Regina - egged on by Henry's wink from across the room and the recent memory of Emma's breath on her lips at the lake - leaned close to the blonde's ear and whispered, "You have a surprisingly good voice, Emma."

"Should I take that as a compliment or an insult, Your Majesty?" Emma answered breathily.

"You return to formalities when I drop them, _Em-ma_?" Regina flirted, her heart fluttering somewhere inside her stomach.

Snow jabbed Charming roughly in the ribs and stabbed her finger in their direction. Henry, though clapping Grace on the back and encouraging her to blow out her candles, was also transfixed.

"Do you always have to answer my questions with a question, _Regina?_" Emma retorted, her voice an octave lower than usual.

"Stick around and find out, _Sheriff Swan_," Regina whispered lasciviously in her ear, sauntering away to stand with Henry, making sure to swish her ass extra for Emma.

"Operation Phoenix is definitely going well," she whispered excitedly into her son's ear.

His smile supernovaed brilliantly. "Can I sleep over tonight and you'll tell me all about it? I can't wait to hear! And I have the next step in mind, I have to tell you about it! It's very time sensitive!"

"I'll see what I can do, honey. Just enjoy the party for now." She kissed his head and slipped back to Emma's side.

"Henry wanted to know if he could sleep over by me tonight. Something to consider," she told the blonde, less confidently than before. Emma was too stunned by the non-lethal flirting they'd just engaged in to respond.

* * *

The celebration thinned gradually as one by one, the children began dozing mid-conversation. Henry was the last child to sleep, having migrated to the adults' tables after Michael and Jefferson took their kids home together.

He was dozing hard against Emma's shoulder when Granny came around to take their last orders on coffee, tea, and liquor.

"Emma, we should take him home," Snow said softly across the tables, which, to Regina's extreme discomfort, had been pushed together, joining herself, Henry, Archie, and Emma with Snow and David.

"Oh, um..." Emma stammered. "I was actually thinking he might like to stay at Regina's tonight. I think he'd be happy to wake up there, and anyway, it's got less stairs than our apartment..." She looked across the table at Regina. "Can I help you carry him? I don't wanna wake him..."

"That would be lovely," Regina responded evenly, terribly nervous to be conversing with Emma in front of her parents. She slipped to the other side of the table and gathered Henry into her arms. In sleep, he latched his arms around her neck like a baby koala bear. She smiled as Emma tucked his jacket over him and into Regina's arms, swinging his backpack over her shoulder and taking Regina's purse for her. The blonde waved a cheery good night to everyone, and Regina nodded pleasantly to Archie. Emma held the door for her as they left the restaurant.

"They'll be married within the week," Charming muttered into his coffee.

* * *

Regina elected to sit in the back seat of Emma's bug with Henry - she would normally object, but it didn't make sense for them to take two cars, and there was no way the blonde was driving her Benz - and laid him out across most of the back seat, placing his head delicately on her lap.

A pleasant silence filled the car - accompanied by soft music from a CD Emma slid in - as the blonde drove extra slowly to avoid waking their son.

_Feeling my hands start shaking_  
_Hearing your voice I'm overjoyed_  
_I'm sorry but I have no choice_  
_You're only getting better_

Regina's eyes drifted closed, replaying the glorious aspects of the day as the lyrics to the song Emma was playing - _was she playing it on purpose?_ -washed over her:

_Maybe you have your reasons_  
_Maybe you're scared you'll be let down_  
_Are you crying when there's no one around?_  
_Then maybe_

_Maybe if you hold me, baby_  
_Let me come over_  
_I will tell you secrets nobody knows_  
_I cannot overstate it_  
_I will be overjoyed_

She saw herself skating around the lake with Henry; nearly kissing Emma (_what?!_); watching Henry and Hansel try to flirt at dinner; seeing them holding hands on the lake; sharing stories of her past with Emma; being asked to call the blonde by her first name; doing so... nearly kissing...

_The smile on your face like summer_  
_The way that your hand keeps touching mine_  
_Let me be the one to make it right_

Her thoughts slowed and ceased as her mind slipped into sleep.

Emma glanced back in the mirror, expecting to see Regina's alert eyes watching the road, back seat driver that she imagined she would be. What she found made her heart skip a beat: Regina's head tilted to one side, leaning back against the head rest, eyes closed gently, breathing evenly, face beautifully relaxed as one hand rested in Henry's hair and the other draped protectively across his body, falling gracefully on his waist.

_And if you want, we'll share this life_  
_Anytime you need a friend I'm gonna be by your side_  
_When nobody understands you_  
_Well, I do_

Tears sprang unbidden to Emma's eyes. She wanted to take a photo, but didn't want to violate Regina's trust.

She parked and got out of the car as silently as she could when they reached the mansion. She opened the door on Regina's side, gently touching her arm, leaning close to her.

"Regina," she whispered. She had expected her to jump, but she didn't. Instead, a smile tilted up in her lips.

"Emma," she murmured. Emma's heart nearly exploded with joy, and her smile lit up the night.

"We're home, 'Gina. We have to take Henry inside."

Regina groaned softly, pleased to have the blonde's voice washing over her, and Emma decided she wanted to hear that sound every day.

She opened her eyes lazily, tilting her head to her left to indicate that Emma should go to the other side of the car to help her get Henry out without having to drag him.

Without much hassle - the women found that when they weren't at each other's throats, they communicated excellently, almost instinctively - they got Henry's sleeping form out of the car and into the house. Emma carried him upstairs, and waited at the side of his bed for Regina to pull back the covers for him. After fluffing his pillow, Regina slipped his shoes off as Emma laid him down. They unbuttoned his jeans so he wouldn't be too uncomfortable, but knew he was coming to the age that he might feel awkward with them undressing him. Wanting to respect that, they simply tucked him in, each leaning down to give him a gentle kiss good night. He sighed contentedly in his sleep.

They tiptoed out of his room and Regina closed his door silently, both keenly aware that this was the first time they'd ever tucked their son in together.

When their eyes met, both of their hearts took an extra beat.

"I - "

"Would - "

They started and stopped speaking at the same time.

"Go ahead."

"Sorry, go ahead."

Simultaneity again.

They laughed awkwardly, softly.

Regina began again.

"Would you like a drink, Emma? Night cap?" Regina's voice was so open that Emma wanted to fall into it and never stop descending. Fear fastened her to the precipice.

"I'd love to, I really would, but uh, I have to drive home, and - "

"Oh, well, I thought you could stay here tonight. I'm sure Henry would be thrilled if you were here when he wakes up - "

"I... I don't even have a toothbrush..." It was the most ridiculous excuse Emma could think of, but she needed to use it. She was panicked: she did this. She slept with people before dating them, and while she knew that worked for other people, for her, it always ended badly. She always ran. Or wound up in jail. Or both.

She didn't want to do that to Regina, didn't want to mess things up with her. Seeing the hurt and panic tear across Regina's face - the toothbrush thing was so obviously a horrid excuse (could anyone really think the Queen only had one toothbrush in that entire mansion?) - Emma opted for the truth.

"I just don't want to fuck things up, Regina. I - we're just getting used to each other, just getting to know each other, really, and I - there's too much at stake to - "

"Of course." Regina's tone was clipped: she was back in mayor mode. Emma's heart broke.

"No, come on, don't do that, don't close up. Please. I mean it, Regina. I'm just scared of messing things up. I... I don't want to mess you up."

"Any more than I already am, you mean," Regina deadpanned, feeling every door in her body slam shut the more Emma tried to explain why she was running. Because that's what it felt like to Regina: like the blonde was running, too scared to share a bed with the Evil Queen, too terrified even to be in the same house overnight with her (because no one had said anything about sharing her bed... not out loud, anyway...).

Emma sighed patiently. "That's a trick question, Regina, and I'm not going to answer it. You said you care about me and want to protect me? Well, I've got a news flash for you, lady, I care about you and want to protect you, too. I stay in this house tonight, I'm gonna wanna do things we're both gonna regret, and - "

"You'd regret sleeping with me?" Regina whispered, her doors having been blasted apart, Emma-shaped holes boring through each of them.

Emma stepped closer, reaching out and taking Regina's hands into hers. "Tonight? Yes. One of us - maybe even both of us - would panic. I'm panicking now, and I know you are, too. I can't speak for you, but I know I'm only panicking because I so don't want to fuck this up. I meant what I said: you're an amazing woman, Regina, and you're worth the wait."

A single tear slid down Regina's face. Emma frowned. "Has no one ever told you that?"

Regina didn't need to answer. They both knew the answer well enough.

The older woman took a step back, breaking their contact.

"Get home safe, Emma," she whispered, and disappeared into her bedroom before she could change her mind.

Emma let herself out in a daze, and blasted her CD the entire drive home.

Both women lay awake all night, each thinking of the other.


	11. Chapter 11

Her back was uncharacteristically hunched as she leaned over the kitchen island, coddling a mug of tea in her exhausted hands. Her eyes were closed as she breathed in the steam. Henry smelled peppermint richly wafting from the mug as he paused in the doorway of the kitchen, watching her silently for a moment.

"Hey, Mom," he finally greeted her, softly so as not to startle her: he knew she was used to living in that huge house alone by now. Sure enough, she jumped when his voice met her ears.

"Henry!" Her smile was radiant as she straightened up to greet him. "What are you doing up so early, honey?"

The child shrugged. He'd slipped out of his jeans and a pair of Tron underwear peaked out from under yesterday's now impossibly wrinkled shirt. His hair stuck out at odd ends, and Regina wondered if Emma's stuck out like that in the mornings, too. Henry looked marvelously comfortable - as he had not in her home for far too long - and Regina's heart swelled as he slipped onto a stool next to her.

"You gonna tell me all about yesterday and last night? I woke up a little when you and Emma tucked me in, but I must have fallen right back asleep: is she still here?" He looked around, as though she might pop out of one of the cabinets at any moment.

Regina shook her head somewhat sadly. Henry frowned. "But, Regina told him, a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth, "I'm fairly certain she - well, you know - share my feelings!" Her voice rose as it used to when she was excited as a teenager and she grinned in an embarrassed, off-handed way that Henry thought suited her well. He clapped his hands together excitedly.

"Tell me, tell me, tell me!"

* * *

"So she likes you but didn't want to sleep over?" Regina nodded affirmatively as he shook his head, sipping his mother's tea as he did so. "Grown-ups are so weird. But that's okay, because listen, I have a plan for the next stage of Operation Phoenix!"

"Henry, I don't even know what stage we're _on_ anymore," Regina moaned lightly in an almost Emma-like manner, running her hands over her face and through her hair.

"That's okay, 'cause I do! We're in the stage where you and Emma both know you both like each other, but don't know how to keep going from there. And that's what you have me for!"

Regina chuckled softly as she ruffled his hair. "Our little matchmaker," she murmured. "So what's next?"

"Emma's birthday," Henry told her simply.

Her heart plummeted. Of course, it was a few days from then. How could she have forgotten? The twenty-ninth anniversary of her casting the curse... And a year since she had met the blonde.

_I made a wish on this cupcake I bought myself: that I didn't have to be alone on my birthday._

"It's okay, Mom. I know," Henry comforted softly, putting his little hand on hers, having watched the realization and fear flit across her face. "I'll help you. It's gonna be perfect."

* * *

"_No_," she told him flatly, firmer than she'd been with him in a long time. "Absolutely not, Henry. I couldn't possibly - "

"But you've got to, Mom. If you don't help them plan it, they'll do it on their own and mess it up," he pleaded.

"And not even _invite_ me," Regina muttered moodily. She inhaled and livened back up. "Which would be preferable to the humiliation of - "

"Mom, _please_. I know it's hard, but you can do it. Plus, Emma will appreciate it that much more because she'll know how hard it was for you to do."

"And I can't just have things easy for once because...?" Her tone was deliberately light, but a groundswell of pain was threatening to erupt underneath it.

Like his other mother, always knowing exactly how to mend her - or break her - Henry soothed her, saying, "You will, Mom. That's what Operation Phoenix is all about. Come on. Don't make me use my puppy eyes."

* * *

And so it happened that Regina found herself tapping her bare foot on the kitchen floor in anxious impatience and dread, grimacing at Henry's shining face as t he phone rang.

"H - hello?" came the confused - and mildly alarmed - greeting.

"Relax, Snow, I haven't changed my mind about resisting killing you. I'm calling because - " she paused, and Henry nodded, enthusiastically gesturing to her to go on, just like they'd practiced. " - because it's almost your daughter's birthday, and Henry and I would like to plan the celebration..." Henry cleared his throat and rolled his hand at her: _go on_. "... with you and David." She rolled her eyes playfully at Henry.

A confused pause and set of stammerings filled the line. "Oh, um, wow, Regina... I... um..."

"Come now, dear, if I'd wanted to cast a disoriented-babbling spell over the phone, I would have. But I assure you that I did no such thing, so an articulate response would really be appreciated. Sometime before Emma's next birthday would be preferable."

Henry grinned exasperatedly into his hands. "What?" Regina mouthed at him innocently as she play-smacked his shoulder lightly. "I'm trying."

* * *

Two hours and several Saturday morning cartoons later, Regina and Henry were walking up the stairs to Mary Margaret's apartment, having been assured that Emma was at work and, since David had taken a week off to spend with Snow, she wouldn't be back to the apartment any time soon. Regina paused at the threshold of the door, looking down at Henry apprehensively. "It'll be okay, Mom. You kind of brought Mary Margaret back to life in a weird way. What you said really made her start living again. They know that. It'll be okay." She gave him a tight-lipped smile and nodded at him to open the door.

Snow and Charming were sitting together at the kitchen table, heads near each other over two steaming mugs of coffee. A third mug, bright green, was powerfully wafting the scent of hot chocolate, with a touch of cinnamon, throughout the apartment, and a fourth mug - simple, black, and empty - was empty near them.

Snow rose overeagerly as Henry and his mother entered, rushing to scoop up the empty mug and offering it out to Regina. "Regina! Good morning! Tea, coffee?"

The Queen arched an eyebrow. "Sword fighting and that quaint little bow of yours suit you better than domesticity, dear. And I'm quite sure I can make my own tea."

She imperiously strode into the kitchen to do just that.

Charming and Henry exchanged glances, both stifling their laughter. David tried to rearrange his face into a more serious expression, and Henry mimicked him comically.

"So, Regina," David began, standing against the table, crossing his arms slowly, "what plans do you have for our daughter - " He paused, and Regina, ever graceful, fumbled the mug she was holding. "- 's birthday?" he finished, a mischievous grin lighting up his features. He wiped it off of his face as she looked up at him, seething, realizing she'd been toyed with.

He sensed danger and backpedaled. "Snow was thinking of a ball, and - "

David stopped mid-sentence as Regina scoffed to herself. "Something wrong?" Snow chimed, holding her coffee mug in front of her lips as though it would protect her from harm.

"I know _you _may want your daughter to have a ball, Snow dear, but what do you imagine _she _would want for her birthday? Certainly not flouncy dresses and _chivalrous_ men?"

"No, you're right, she'd prefer - what? - cleavage and _apple_ pie?" Regina arched an eyebrow as David nodded his head realistically behind Snow's back.

"I'm sure she would, dear, but that's not the only thing I was going to suggest." Snow blanched. Henry and Charming were watching them like a tennis match and seemed to be amused: or, perhaps, relieved that the two hadn't yet come to blows.

"Emma abhors being the center of attention, but she also doesn't want to..." Regina paused, glancing at Henry. The glint in his eye helped her continue. "... to be alone on her birthday. She'll want to be with people she cares for, but without the pomp and circumstance that you grew up with, dear."

"You had it, too, Regina," Snow whispered. Dangerous darkness and tales of nights long gone but relived daily surged into the Queen's eyes.

"You've never celebrated my birthday, Snow White. Did you never realize that? You commemorated your mother's every year, certainly, but _Daddy dearest_ never thought to acknowledge mine, let alone ask when it was."

Tears filled Snow's eyes. "My father was a _good man_," she defended softly, and David began to step forward with his arms slightly out in front of him.

"To _you_ he was. But not to his teenage bride." Regina's whisper was deadly and it penetrated the marrow of every bone in Snow's body.

The women locked eyes and a flash of understanding and horror passed through Snow's. She blinked, as though trying to rid her eyelids of something heavy.

"So Regina, if a ball is out of the question, what did you have in mind for Emma's birthday?"

David relaxed his hands and Henry let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. Regina flashed her best Madam Mayor smile. "Something befitting a princess, never fear," she informed the woman she'd spent decades trying to best.

* * *

An hour of party-planning and Regina-talking-to-David-about-the-animal-shelter later, Henry's phone buzzed.

"Uh, guys," he interrupted the adults. He held his phone out for them to all see the screen.

_Hey kid, what r u & ur mom up 2? Wanna have lunch, the 3 of us?_

Regina scoffed. Again. Charmings seemed to have that effect on her. "Honestly, Henry, I need to have a word with your mother about what kind of spelling and grammar she's teaching you."

"Hey, my texts are always fine!" he defended gamely. He ruffled his hair and kissed his head. "Of course they are, sweetie."

"Why the change, Regina? A couple of weeks ago, you and Emma were fighting tooth and nail over Henry. What happened? Emma's his mother now, too? Why the change of heart?" Snow's question wasn't aggressive, but it was probing, and it irked Regina deeply.

"Well, you would know all about changes of heart, wouldn't you, dear?" Regina asked bitingly, memories of her mother beating hard on the surface of her brain. Their eyes bore into each other again, and Regina shifted her gaze to Henry after several moments of burning. "I think we've got a plan solidly in order, Henry, if you'd like to meet Emma for lunch."

His face lit up. "Sure!" he scrambled out of his chair. "So, we're all clear on the plan, right?"

Snow and Charming nodded. Regina got up and paused awkwardly. She pictured Emma's face as they were about to kiss the day before as she forced some of the most difficult words for her to say to these people out of her lips: "Thank you."

Snow nodded silently, and Regina turned to leave.

"Don't break my daughter's heart, Regina," Snow said mildly. Regina turned, eyes wide. "You have it, you know. Her heart. Sometimes I think you always have."

"I can't promise you that I won't," the Queen responded with uncharacteristic softness, and David heard a trace of tears in her throat. "But I can promise you that I don't want to."

"That'll do," David whispered as he watched the woman he was already beginning to see as his daughter-in-law leave with his grandson. He thought of her tears in the stable when she'd said been forced to let Daniel go again, and he took comfort: she _could_ love, and incredibly deeply, at that. Perhaps _more_ deeply than most. If she allowed herself to love his daughter, well then... Emma could frankly do much worse. He wrapped his arm around Snow's shoulder as she shook her head in shock at what had just happened and began making phone calls to prepare for the party.

* * *

Mother and son walked into the dinner bouncing with energy. The short walk to the diner had been enough to clear Regina's head and heart of the bitterness and acute sense of loss she'd felt while dealing with Emma's parents, especially when Henry showed her an exchange he'd just had with Emma.

_We're having a good time. Mom says she'd love to meet up with you. Me too! See you soon!_

_Really kid? She said that?_

_Well, not exactly, but I just know! Why, does it matter?_

_Just makes me happy is all. See you soon. I'm going to order your mom her usual - do you think she'd like that?_

_Affirmative!_

_:)_

Regina's heart soared, loving the way her son was positively bursting with excitement about the progress of Operation Phoenix. And, she couldn't lie to herself, she loved the way it was making her feel, too.

The bell on the door chimed and Emma stood eagerly, striding over to wrap Henry in her arms. She looked at Regina over the top of his head and immediately blushed. "Hi," she said openly, in a similar tone of voice to the one she had used in the first word she'd ever spoken to the woman.

_You're Henry's birth mother_?

_Hi_.

"Good afternoon, Ms. Swan," Regina answered her pleasantly. Emma frowned at the formal address, but Regina winked as she slipped past her to the table Emma had saved for them.

Henry's phone buzzed.

_Your grandma just called me. Ur mom is srsly throwing Em a bday party? U got some serious skills, kid!_

Henry looked up with a grin to see Ruby pocketing her phone. He shrugged confidently at her, basking in success.

* * *

"How's Hansel, Henry?" Regina asked once they settled down. "He seemed to be able to have a good time last night: was he really alright after that terrible scare?"

Henry nodded as he drank some water and swallowed a few nerves. "He was alright. You jumped in there so quick he didn't have too much time to feel scared."

Regina smiled softly. "And have you been able to determine if you make him feel nice, like you said he makes you feel?"

Henry scrunched up his nose. "I think I do. I hope I do. We held hands while we were skating yesterday! He even took off his mittens so he could hold my hand extra close!"

Regina grinned and glanced at Emma, who was also smiling, but staring at her intently. She suppressed the rush of heat that surged through her body at the intensity in Emma's eyes, and returned her attention to Henry.

"That's wonderful, honey! Now, you know that if you ever feel like you want to touch him, you need to get his permission first?"

Henry nodded as Ruby slipped their food in front of them, a barely suppressed look of glee on her face.

Emma chimed in after they all thanked her. "Yeah, and he's gotta get your permission to touch you, too, kid. Make sure he does that, okay?"

Regina's lips parted as she stared at Emma. Her heart sang at Emma's words, loving her more in his moment - as she swiped a french fry through Henry's milk shake - than she ever had.

"Oh, 'Gina, I ordered you that salad and fries that you always get: the kid said it would be okay, and I thought it'd be a nice surprise, but if you don't want it, I - "

"It's lovely, thank you, Emma," Regina cut her off, leaning over and taking an onion ring off of Emma's plate. "More thoughtful than I would have expected, but be that as it may..."

Emma made a face at her and plucked an olive out of Regina's salad with her fingers, plopping it in her mouth with relish.

Henry beamed as he watched his moms share each others' food without acknowledging what they were doing throughout the entire meal, which he spent animatedly reenacting for them the drama of the day before and how happy Grace was when she saw that Granny had put all of her favorite flavors into the cake.

* * *

Emma glanced at her cell phone after a half hour. "Alright, kid, I've gotta get back to the office." She stood, throwing a twenty dollar bill and a ten on the table. "Tell Ruby to keep the change, okay?"

"Oh, Emma, that's really not necessary, I - "

"It's my pleasure, Regina," Emma interrupted her, a decisive note in her voice. To Emma's and Henry's surprise - and most of all, to Regina's - the older woman backed down immediately, thanking the blonde softly.

Emma smiled as she put on her jacket. Henry gesticulated behind Emma's back at his adoptive mother. "Ask her!" he mouthed. "Animal shelter!" Panic flitted across her eyes - _what if she says no?_ - but Henry sent a smile and thumbs up her way. She steeled her nerve and took a deep breath, forcing casualness into her voice.

"Oh, Emma, before I forget to tell you: I spoke with your father this morning, and he said there's no reason that I can't take over the animal shelter. Seems my administrative skills as well as my affinity for animals are no secret. Why don't we have dinner tomorrow night to talk details? As Sheriff, you are the highest-ranking official in town now, after all."

Emma opened and closed her mouth a few times as though she'd been thrown under water and told she was a fish. When she spoke, her voice cracked slightly as her cheeks reddened.

"Wow, that uh... That sounds great. See you at seven?"

Henry practically jumped in the air and pumped his fist in victory, and if truth be told, Regina was screaming with joy on the inside as well.

She smiled calmly. "Seven it is, then... Emma."

"Nice work, Your Majesty," Ruby murmured happily as she watched Emma's radiant smile as she left. Tomorrow night was going to be the most exciting at the diner in a longgg time.


	12. Chapter 12

The rest of the day had been an absolute blur. After asking Emma out to dinner, Regina oscillated every few minutes between excitement and utter insecurity that bordered on complete horror. Henry took it upon himself to moderate these oscillations, and he insisted that Regina do with him what he always tried to do when he needed to calm down and clear his head: several endless rounds of Mario Kart. (Reading was actually first on his list, but that was more of a cerebral activity, and Regina definitely needed to _stop_ thinking.)

To his mild surprise, Regina beat him soundly in every level. When it came time for Emma to pick Henry up - Regina remembered in a heart-breaking burst of silence that her son wasn't living with her anymore, that this day was an anomaly granted her by his other mother - the blonde paused before ringing the doorbell, a smile creeping across her face as she heard the screams from within.

"No! Mom, that's not fair, you know I'm not good at avoiding bananas!"

"You used lightning on me first, you little rascal!"

Their delighted giggles and bursts of inarticulate screams of excitement filled the house and Emma's heart. She almost didn't want to ring the doorbell, but she guessed she had to.

* * *

"I suppose I won't get another night with him any time soon?" Regina queried cautiously as Henry got his backpack together.

"I'd like you to, Regina. Another thing for us to talk about tomorrow night," Emma told her, her thumbs hanging onto her belt loops for dear life.

Regina swore the blonde put an extra swing into her usual swagger as she stepped off the porch and away with Henry. She smiled sadly, forcing herself to remember what Henry had told her about the point of Operation Phoenix: they could all be a family.

_Indeed_.

* * *

Mercifully, sleep overtook both women quickly that night, neither having slept the previous night, kept awake by memories of each others' almost touches, glances, and words, both spoken and those that died in the throat.

The next morning, however, they both awoke slightly panicked.

Henry had been waiting for the onslaught of questions. Sure enough, soon after he awoke, his phone buzzed.

_Good morning, honey. Did you sleep well? _

_Yes, Mom. I hope you did, too. How are you feeling about tonight?_

A few minutes' wait.

Then:

_Truth be told, darling, I'm incredibly nervous. Is there anything in your Operation Phoenix box of tricks that will help you figure out if Emma thinks of this as a date?_

She held her breath as she sent this text, cheeks reddening even though she was alone in the mansion, embarrassed but also incredibly pleased to be asking her son such vulnerable - and teenager-ish - advice and assistance.

His response was almost immediate:

_On it._

* * *

He made his move over breakfast, waiting patiently until Emma finally downed her first sip of coffee. She had spilled it twice - once all over the counter, and once on herself - and he smiled softly to himself, happy that she was acting as nervous as Regina's texts indicated that she was.

He'd thought about it, and knew that with his innocent puppy eyes and his natural precociousness, he could get away with being almost comically direct.

"So, Emma, are you going on a date with my mom tonight?"

And up came the coffee: again. Once her nose had been blown clean of the hot liquid and a sufficient amount of coughing had been suffered through - and once Henry had cleaned himself off (he really should have anticipated this) - Emma squeaked, "A _date_, kid? I - it - _no_, it's just - why, did Regina tell you it was a date?"

He took a moment to internally bask in his glory before he responded. "She didn't have to say anything. I was there when she asked you to dinner, and it sounded sort of like a date to me. I just..." He turned on his most innocent, loving, sweet son face. "I just want you to know that it's okay with me. If it's a date. You both deserve happiness."

Emma's eyes searched his face swiftly. Finding no answers there, she nodded, her face turning crimson. She was relieved her parents had gone on an early walk that morning: she would hate to have them see her like this.

"That really means a lot, Henry. Thanks." She sipped her coffee in what she evidently thought was a calm, dignified manner. "You think I should dress up like it's a date, or just wear regular clothes?"

Henry hid his grin and looked her up and down appraisingly, deeply amused by her attempt at nonchalance. "I think you should wear that collared shirt that's hanging up in the closet with your red leather jacket."

Emma blanched. "Kid, are you trying to get me killed? Your mom _hates_ that jacket."

He simply smiled enigmatically. "No, she doesn't." And he promptly turned his attention back to his cereal and his phone.

_It's a date, Mom. Wear whatever makes you feel best, but maybe a little more casual and date-y than a business suit? _

His phone buzzed almost immediately after he snapped it shut.

_You are a wonderful child, Henry. And not just for this._

He chuckled to himself as he heard Emma stub her toe - loudly - as she trekked up the stairs. He hoped both of his moms got through the day in one piece.

* * *

They did. Emma came home early from work, showered, and changed, unusually silent. Snow and Charming exchanged glances, but had the sense not to say anything.

At 6:30, she texted Regina and sat on the foot of the stairs anxiously, staring at her phone.

_Hi. Want me to pick u up or should we meet at the diner?_

She jumped when the phone buzzed as though she hadn't been desperately waiting for it to do just that.

_If you'd like to walk together, that would be nice; but really dear, do you expect me to voluntarily ride in that death trap you call a car?_

Snow, Charming, and Henry watched Emma smirk and scoff to herself, typing rapidly.

_Yeah, ur so uncomfortable in it that u fell asleep last time. _

A longer pause. Emma tapped her foot impatiently.

_If you promise to play that CD again, then I will accept your offer. See you in 10 minutes._

Emma's heart leapt. _Regina remembered the CD? _She sent her last message as she stood and grabbed her car keys.

_U got it. C u soon._

"See you guys later," she murmured, clearly grateful that they were all pretending to play Scrabble rather than peppering her with last minute advice or questions. _Maybe they don't care that I'm getting close with the Queen after all... or maybe they really just think it's a business dinner... _

She kissed Henry's head and whisked down the stairs.

* * *

Her hand shook as she reached up to ring the bell. Her heart rate skyrocketed as she heard the tell-tale clicking of Regina's heels in the hallway.

The brunette paused by the mirror, primping her hair one last time and licking her lips nervously. She tried not to focus on looking into her own eyes - generally a painful experience for her - and latched onto the thought of the text Henry had just sent her:

_She's really nervous, but pretending not to be. It's going to be great tonight, Mom. Operation Phoenix!_

She smiled at his excitement and opened the door. Her heart stopped as she gazed out at the woman she had begun to fall in love with nearly a year ago: red jacket, light blue collared shirt, open several buttons down, and her hair back into the magnificent curls she'd had when they met.

For her part, Emma was surprised she didn't immediately go into cardiac arrest: Regina had chosen a simple, deep blue dress that fitted her body perfectly, dipping down into a v on her chest, revealing just enough cleavage that, on anyone else, Emma would find it difficult to look into her eyes. But Regina made it easy: Emma would willingly drown herself in those eyes, and never had she known it more than this moment. The older woman's body language was more honest than it had ever been: nervous and excited, with a touch of absolutely terrified. And hopeful. So radiantly hopeful.

"You look..." Emma began, but the words caught in her throat.

Surprisingly, Regina understood. She nodded. "So do you, dear," she whispered, so softly Emma thought she might have not actually said it.

* * *

Dining together was infinitely easier than either had thought it would be. What with Henry, Regina's interest in the animal shelter, and all the new post-Curse town gossip, they found it shockingly easy to communicate, without delving into deep and difficult - and potentially lethal - subjects.

They further found that the matter of Regina taking over the animal shelter was rapidly dispensed with: David would show her the proverbial ropes, and Emma would handle anyone who objected (not because Regina couldn't take care of herself, of course, but because it would probably be more effective at changing people's minds if Emma took the lead there). Her work could include keeping the stables, if she thought she could, and wanted to. She could, and did. She would only use magic to heal animals she could communicate with, when they gave her their consent to do so. Otherwise, she would consult the previous veterinarians - many of whom were mice or cats themselves in the other realm - for their input and assistance with care.

Neither one of them mentioned that the so-called 'reason' for their dinner had taken no more than seven or so minutes to discuss.

* * *

"D'you hear about Jefferson and Michael?"

"I can't say anyone really talks to me, dear, but all you need is eyes to see that they're clearly involved in some way."

"Yeah, Henry says everyone in school is talking about it. Some of them are being super horrible about it..." She trailed off, that distant, shuttered look clouding her eyes. Regina touched her knee under the table and spooned some extra olives onto her plate. Emma smiled again. "I think we need to make some changes in that school. They've gotta know that not all princesses marry princes..."

"Indeed," Regina murmured, sipping her wine suggestively as she took Emma's eyes into her own.

Her stomach plummeted and all of the fears she'd been working so hard to suppress about the evening - _Emma will lose interest the moment people in her life object to... whatever it is that we have; and they will object; and even if they don't, she'll simply run, as she always has, as everyone always has; how could anyone - let alone any Savior, _the _Savior - every want the incredibly damaged goods that are the Evil Queen? - _when a very agitated looking Neal entered her peripheral vision, and then her full vision, clearly coming over to talk to them, clearly something grave on his mind.

"Evening, Your Highness," he addressed Regina awkwardly, with a strong tinge of aggression, before turning to Emma, who was looking at him like he was the very last person on earth she wanted to see right now. And, in fact, he was. Except, perhaps, for Hook.

"Uh, Em, can I talk to you a second, please?" His hands were deep in his pockets, and he was shifting his feet like he was a three-year-old needing to use the bathroom.

Emma furrowed her brow at him. "Neal, I'm in the middle of - "

"Yeah, I know, it won't take long. Just... come on." He nodded his head towards the door anxiously, still bouncing on the balls of his feet. Emma glanced at Regina, who was studiously avoiding eye contact with the blonde and her ex.

"Regina, I - " Her voice was heavy with apologies never made.

"Do go on, dear, if for no other reason than to spare him of the aneurysm he looks like he might have if you don't." She still refused to meet the eyes of the woman sitting across from her. Emma stood reluctantly.

"I'll be right back. I'm sorry." Her words sounded genuine to Regina, but decades of experience told her not to believe what she wanted to.

* * *

The door bell chimed as Neal stepped back for Emma, gesturing her to go outside before him. Regina watched Emma raise her eyebrows at him and refuse to step through first. He sighed loudly, shaking his head, and stepped outside first, hand touching her waist as he did so. She thought she saw the blonde flinch in response, but convinced herself coldly that she had only observed what she wanted to see. And what she wanted was oh-so-dangerous, especially when it involved the woman who was born to break her Curse.

Regina summoned every ounce of restraint she had cultivated during nearly three decades as mayor to her as she watched the pair whose bodies produced her son talk soundlessly outside. Her knuckles were white under the table, and she was pretty sure she was drawing blood on the insides of her palms as her fists balled up tightly inside them.

_No matter_, she thought idly. A few scratches - which were frankly helping her focus on not losing control, not betraying herself, not showing the sheer terror that was coursing through her - could be easily healed, and anyway, they were a pain no one else would be privy to.

Whatever Neal was telling her - whatever Emma came back inside to say, which would inevitably be agonizing - she could take. She had, after all, asked Emma to meet her for dinner to discuss the animal else they'd discussed had simply been pleasantries, to be civil, for Henry's sake. She had that to fall back on.

_So much for Operation Phoenix_, she thought bitterly to herself as she waited for Emma to return. She didn't let herself acknowledge the fact that she trusted that regardless of what he was saying, the blonde would, indeed, return.

* * *

"What the hell, Neal? I was - "

"Yeah, I know what you were doing. The whole damn town can see what you're doing, Emma. Did you think no one noticed you two holding hands on the ice the other day? Did you really think no one caught you two practically kissing before that kid fell into the water? And I've only got one question for you, Emma, just one: _the Evil Queen?_ Seriously?"

Emma blinked dangerously, her stomach boiling in rage. When she spoke, her voice was deathly low. "What I do and who I do it with is _my _business, Neal, and if you think you can just come waltzing back into town and start regulating who_ I_ have _dinner_ with - "

"I'm not trying to regulate anything, Emma," he said in a mollifying tone. He looked left and right furtively, as though afraid of being overheard. "I just... I care about you, and I care about our kid - "

"_My _kid." _And Regina's. Damnit._

Neal swallowed hard as he took a deep breath. "I care about _Henry_, and I... I don't want to see you go up in flames."

Emma's features contorted in confused anger, and he kept speaking before she could start yelling. "Just _think_ about it, Emma. Do you really think this is _not_ going to end up in flames? You think _the son of Rumpelstiltskin_ messed you up?" He gestured inward at himself, before pointing firmly into the diner. "Try it with the _Evil Queen_, Em, and then see what a state you're in - what sort of state _Henry's_ in - when she's finished with you!"

A vision of Graham taking his last breath sprang up unbidden in Emma's mind, the knowledge that Regina had his heart the entire time - _talk about violation of consent _- burning unexpectedly though her mind.

Neal watched her face carefully, seeing the pain settle into her features. "Good, you're getting it, then." He backed away from her awkwardly: they had been standing fairly close together. "Good. Uh, I should - " he pointed vaguely up the street. "I should get going, then. Good night, Emma. Take care of yourself, okay?" He said these last words gently, and suddenly she realized that he still cared for her. Deeply; perhaps too deeply for her liking. He just... didn't know Regina. _Did he?_

_Of course not_, she thought irritably, looking in through the window at Regina's scared form. They were talking about the woman who'd raised her son, for crying out loud. The woman who, just days before, had dove into freezing water to save a child's life without any hesitation; who played Mario Kart with Henry hours before; who had ceased her quest for revenge on Snow - despite the fact that she was still very much mourning her mother, whom Snow had manipulated her into killing - simply in pursuit of Henry's trust and love. And perhaps something more, too._  
_

Emma sighed, her heart feeling lighter: no one was going to talk her out of... whatever this was. She'd made that mistake before. Never again.

_I know that look._

_I know her._

_I believe her._

* * *

She slipped back into her seat shakily. "Sorry," she whispered awkwardly, noticing that Regina's wine - which had been mostly full a moment ago - was nearly empty.

"He told you to stay away from me." It wasn't a question, and Emma felt like someone had opened her chest and squeezed her heart. Literally. She knew what it felt like.

"Yeah," she whispered, eyes in her lap.

She saw Regina - already ramrod straight and fearfully tense - bristle. She forced herself to look up into her chocolate orbs.

"He doesn't know you," she said firmly.

"Neither do you, Emma," Regina responded, not unkindly, but with a weariness in her voice that Emma had never heard there before.

"I'd like to," was the only answer Emma could come up with. It was the only answer that was honest, that wasn't condescending, that wasn't assuming that because she sensed the immensity of the older woman's pain, that she knew everything about her.

"Why?" Regina asked her, the question cutting through Emma's every vein. Chocolate eyes bore into forested ones, and Ruby - about to refill their wine - backed away from the table, sensing the intensity like a heat wave.

Emma wasn't ready. She couldn't. She'd said so much the night before; she knew Regina of all people would understand. "Why do you? Want to bother with some poser of a Savior, who's never stayed in one place more than two years?"

"Are you planning on amending that track record?" Regina asked, terrified to know the answer but needing it like oxygen. Neither woman had blinked since they locked eyes. Emma dropped hers.

"That depends," she murmured, clearly nervous.

The Queen's heart leapt with hope. "Dare I ask on what, Ms. Swan?"

Emma gulped at the heady quality in Regina's voice. She looked up again. "I think you know, Your Majesty," she replied softly, enjoying their little game, knowing that they were only playing it because neither of them were ready to do anything else.

"Indulge me, Sheriff." Her eyes flashed hotly, and heat surged through Emma's core.

"Tell you what. Let's do this again next Friday. To keep each other updated on the progress of the animal shelter and stables. And maybe I'll... indulge you some more then."

Emma drained the rest of her beer as she watched Regina's pupils dilate slowly.

* * *

Hoping he wasn't asleep, Ruby texted Henry.

_I think it's going grt, kid. They seem to rly b into each other!_

She was surprised - but only slightly - when she got a text back a minute later.

_YES! OPERATION PHOENIX IS GOING TO SUCCEED!_

She smiled deeply as she collected their money and watch them leave, Emma helping Regina on with her coat as they walked out together.

* * *

"Honestly, Emma, I'm quite capable of getting from your rust bucket to my door on my own."

"Did I say you're incapable? I know you are, but Jesus, 'Gina, a girl can't be chivalrous every now and then?"

She flinched slightly as the words escaped her lips, half expecting Regina to smack her, or at the very least retort with some witty smarm about how well misogyny matches that ugly jacket of hers.

Quite the contrary: she thought she saw the older woman blush as she smiled softly and nodded her head silently, giving Emma her consent to escort her to her door.

"Thank you for a lovely evening, Emma. I... I truly appreciate it."

"_Appreciate _it?" Emma said incredulously. "You talk like it was such a sacrifice for me! I had fun, too." She shuffled her feet somewhat awkwardly as Regina slipped her key into the lock. "Talking about the animal shelter and all." She winked mischievously at her companion, whose cunt absolutely melted.

"And I'm... I'm sorry again about Neal. He just doesn't understand - "

"Let's not spoil a perfectly good evening by discussing it further, Sheriff. Thank you again."

She turned with a small smile and took a step into her door.

"Uh, Regina?" Emma said, a little louder than she'd intended to. The brunette turned, head over her shoulder, in a pose that sent fire through every vein in Emma's body. "I... May I...?"

Heart suddenly thumping harder than she'd felt it beat in years - including when she extracted all that fairy magic from the well - Regina turned her body fully towards the blonde as her answer.

Emma lifted trembling hands to Regina's face, smoothing a couple of flyaway hairs away reverently. Regina gasped lightly at the touch, and Emma brought her lips to Regina's cheek before trailing her hand down Regina's arm. Upon connecting with her hand, Emma lifted it gently to her mouth, bowing slightly as she did so.

Disappointment wracked Regina's body momentarily, her lips desperately for the blonde's, but she remembered what Emma had said - _you're worth the wait _- and her heart warmed immensely.

"Good night, Regina," she whispered as Regina watched her incredulously, filled with a miraculous sense of awe that anyone could touch her like that, without expecting to get laid in return, that anyone would still _want_ to, knowing... what Emma knew.

A single tear trickled yet again down the Queen's face as she watched her Knight stride away into the night.


	13. Chapter 13

**Sorry for the delay! This chapter contains a plot piece from spyffy that I wanted to make sure was just right (and here's hoping it is!). Hi spyffy! I hope you enjoy! :)  
**

**TRIGGER WARNING for a very brief reference to a past experience of homophobia. **

**Reviews make my heart feel like a butterfly! Thank you for reading!**

* * *

Her feet didn't touch the ground and she swore the bug had become one of those speeders from _Star Wars_, hovering above the road, slicing through the air expertly, handling perfectly, bumps or hiccups nonexistent, swirling wondrously in the look that had graced Regina's face when she kissed her hand, the intoxicating scent of her skin when she'd kissed her cheek, the luscious paradise that she knew would be her lips when the time was right...

Emma sighed happily as she glided up the stairs to her parents' apartment, wondering mildly how nonfunctionally blissful she was going to be if and when Regina decided to make love with her, if she was on this kind of a high simply from kissing the older woman's hand. She wondered if Regina was feeling it, too, across town, and felt a pang of separation, knowing the Queen was alone in a huge, empty house, whereas she, Emma, was entering a home full of people who loved her.

Her key slid into the lock silently and she tiptoed into the kitchen. To her irritation, no one was asleep.

_Well, at least they're not fucking this time,_ she thought wryly to herself.

Snow looked up from the kitchen table eagerly, holding a Scrabble letter in her hand. Henry bounced out of his seat and bounded over to Emma in a manner vaguely reminiscent of Pongo. David grinned softly on taking in Emma's faint glow as the blonde put her hands surprisedly across Henry's body, which had latched onto her almost without warning.

"Kid, it's 10 o'clock, what are you doing still up?" She looked over his head at her parents, making a _Regina would kill you if she knew_ face at them.

Charming shrugged defensively: "He wouldn't go to bed!"

"Well? How did it go?" Henry asked eagerly, looking up into Emma's face, glad he remembered in his excitement not to tell her that he'd had a mole - a very wolf-like mole - in the diner who had already texted him the good news.

Emma chuckled, reddening at the way her parents leaned closer almost imperceptibly at his question. She ruffled his hair. "It was great, Henry, but now it's bedtime."

He shrugged amiably, seemingly satisfied with her vague answer. "So... when are the three of us moving in together?" he asked with determined casualness.

"_Henry!_" Emma's voice was strangled and oddly high. "Kid, it was _one_ date, we're not gonna do the U-haul thing just yet!"

"No, that's date two," Snow muttered under her breath, not without good humor.

Henry's eyes sparkled. "So it _was_ a date, then?"

Emma's mouth flew open, and she pointed a disappointingly non-threatening finger at him. "Oh, you're such a little - that - that wasn't _fair_ - you're _so_ Regina's kid!"

Henry almost squealed in delight and zipped upstairs, tossing a generic 'good night!' over his shoulder.

_Mom! Emma's super happy. I asked her when we're moving in together :)_

He snickered softly at Regina's expectedly panicked, expectedly immediate, response.

_HENRY! You ASKED her that? Honey, I know you are trying to help, but please do not be so forward with her! I don't want to scare her away._

Henry simply waited. And waited. He brushed his teeth and changed into pajamas, still waiting. Then - as predicted - his phone buzzed again.

_What did she say?_

Henry giggled happily, satisfied with his powers of prediction. Or maybe just with how well he knew his mother.

_She got really embarrassed, but she was really happy. She said something about a U-haul not being okay after just one date. She called it a date! She's so happy, Mom. Are you happy, too?_

He pulled his covers over his head as his phone buzzed again, twice because of the length of the message.

_For the first time in a long time, sweetheart, I feel as though I really could be. I don't know where I would be without you. Actually, I do, and it makes me that much more grateful for you. Thank you, Henry. I love you. Sleep well: GO TO SLEEP! Your grandparents really should have put you to bed before this. I'll have to have a talk with them. Good night, sweetheart._

"Who's that, kid?" Emma asked suspiciously as she walked into their room and saw him typing and sending his good night.

"Hansel," Henry shrugged casually.

"You're lying," Emma said simply, without anger. "You're not blushing. If it was Hansel, you'd be blushing. Spill it, kid. Is she happy?"

Henry smiled contentedly as he settled down onto his pillow. "Yep!"

Emma's smile kept the room lit far after she switched off the light.

* * *

Uncharacteristic nerves marked Regina's Monday morning: today was the day she began working at the animal shelter, the day David was due to come 'round to show her the ropes. Not that she needed him, of course, but she supposed if she was courting his daughter she should respect some sort of politeness protocol.

She heard her phone buzz through the relaxing rhythm of almost too-hot water beating down on her from the showerhead, and smiled to herself. It was Henry or it was Emma. And considering that it was just about the time the Sheriff unnecessarily drove by her mansion every morning, she thought she had an idea which one.

Her hair dripped as she dried her body with impatient excitement, opening her phone and flipping on the speaker.

"Good morning, Emma."

"Hey! Uh, listen, I know we said today would be the day you start at the shelter, so uh... you want me to pick you up and we could maybe get some breakfast? To mark your big day?"

Regina was at once grateful and disappointed that the blonde couldn't see the blush creeping across her face and chest in response. "That would be... lovely, and unexpectedly... well, no, I don't suppose I want to call you _charming._.. That would be lovely, Emma. I'll be down in fifteen minutes. You can either get out of the car and let yourself in - the spare key is under the third flower pot in the garden, and if I recall, you know the way - or you can drive around the block a few times and pretend you weren't already outside when you called."

She grinned wickedly at her (accurate) imagining of the blonde's shocked face. "Wait, but how - are you looking out the window? _What?_"

"See you soon, Ms. Swan," Regina hung up enigmatically, chuckling to herself.

Flustered, Emma finally managed to close her wipe-open mouth and pull into Regina's driveway. She found the spare key and slipped inside, her heart racing.

"Regina?" she called to announce her presence. It already felt somewhat stalkerish letting herself in - especially because Regina had known she was outside without her saying so - and even moreso because the only reason she'd known where to look in the garden was because she'd stomped through it about a year ago with a chainsaw and something to prove. _How times change._

"Upstairs, dear," Regina's voice descended, heart pounding wildly.

Eager to see the woman she was now dating -_ is one date, an accepted breakfast invitation, and the plan to have another meal together later that week 'dating'?_ - Emma took the stairs two at a time. She hesitated at the top of the staircase.

"My bedroom, dear." Regina's voice was an octave lower than normal, and heat shot through Emma's core, pooling instantly between her legs.

As though advancing through molasses, the blonde followed Regina's voice, and, gulping hard, turned into her bedroom.

The older woman's back was to the door, a simple white towel just covering her ass, water dripping seductively down her tight calves and firm upper back. She turned at the sound of Emma's footstep on the threshold, smiling indulgently at the blonde's utter inability to do anything but feast her eyes on the sight in front of her.

When Emma's eyes reached her face, Regina licked her lips almost imperceptibly, and Emma unconsciously mirrored the action.

"Hi," the blonde whispered huskily, not knowing whether she had permission to enter the room further.

"I'll just be a moment," Regina returned in kind, her eyes making their own sweep of Emma's body before taking the clothes off of her dresser and slipping into the adjoining bathroom.

Emma let out the breath she didn't know she'd been holding as Regina's nearly naked form disappeared from her view.

"What's on your plate for today after breakfast, Sheriff? Is the search for Dr. Whale's brother still ongoing?"

Regina's tone was light and curious, something Emma enjoyed almost as much as her seduction: having a healthy conversation with this woman was a blessing Emma swore she would never take for granted.

"Uh, well, I thought I could take you over to the shelter, get you set up with David, and then yeah, Whale's brother, and loads of others; all this_ finding people_ crap to deal with."

"I thought finding people was what you did, Em: a rather unfortunate inheritance from your parents, granted, but you seemed to take pride in it when you first came to town."

Emma nodded, plopping hopelessly onto Regina's bed, shoving down her intense feelings of arousal as she thought of what else she'd fantasized about doing on this very spot.

"Yeah, but that was before I actually _found_ everything - everyone - I was ever looking for. And then some."

Regina reentered her bedroom, a vision in simple slacks and black stilettos. A look of understanding graced her features. She nodded softly at the blonde, banishing thoughts of what she wanted to do to the woman who was sitting so casually on her bed. "You know, Emma, your father seemed quite happy in that sheriff position, if there's anything else you'd like to look for in the town. If it no longer makes you happy, I mean."

"Well, I don't get to fight with you as part of my job description anymore," Emma joked, appreciating Regina's immediate understanding and insight more than she cared to admit.

"And would you consider that a negative or positive development?" Regina quipped, glancing at Emma in her mirror as the blonde watched her, transfixed, as she applied her mascara.

Emma's mind swam and she weighted her next remark carefully, not wanting to impose a level of sexuality the brunette might not want. _But she did want to sleep with me the other night_, Emma reminded herself.

"Uh..." she stuttered as she watched Regina suppress a smirk as she put on lipstick, still watching Emma watch her.

"I uh... I think we might - if you want, I mean - I think we might be able to find... _healthier_ ways... to uh... channel our aggression..." she stumbled, a grin forming on her face that was the most delectable combination of awkward, tentative, and absolutely sexy that Regina had ever seen. Heat swept through her core as she recalled the dream she'd had a few nights ago, and those she'd had - both in waking and sleeping - many, many, many countless times before.

"Indeed," she intoned seductively, finally turning to Emma and extending her hands towards her. Emma took them, electricity crackling between them as she allowed herself to be pulled up off the bed. "We have to go to work," Regina whispered in her ear.

She pulled away from Emma's body, now trembling slightly with arousal - as was the Queen's - and smiled innocently at her. "But at a more appropriate time, I would very much love to discuss your thoughts on how we could more healthily channel our aggression, Sheriff." Emma nodded numbly, knowing Regina was teasing her and stunned by how much she enjoyed it. The undercurrent of deep affection and desperate desire in the brunette's flirting made Emma's heart sore and legs quake.

She seriously hoped - and seriously doubted - she would be able to snap out of it before they got to the diner for breakfast: Ruby would know. Ruby always knew._ Somehow._

* * *

"You're nervous," Emma said simply as she helped herself to a piece of Regina's pancakes.

Regina took home fries off of Emma's plate as she nodded affirmatively.

"I'm not... _accustomed_ to getting to know the father of someone I'm..." Regina reddened as Emma perked up. "... _pursuing_," the Queen mumbled, and while normally Emma would have teased her into repeating it loudly - several times - she contented herself with playing the word over and over in her head, her anthem of proof that Regina wanted this to become something more.

"But he's just showing you around his old job so you know where the bandages are and stuff. It's not exactly a get-to-know-you kinda thing, is it? I mean, I'm not saying you shouldn't be nervous! I get why you are. But maybe, you know, focusing on the task at hand could help it not be so hard?"

She thought she was rubbish at giving advice, trailing off her question awkwardly. To her surprise, Regina smiled gratefully. "That's precisely what I always do, Emma. Thank you for... reminding me."

Emma grinned victoriously, helping herself to a larger piece of Regina's pancakes. The brunette rolled her eyes and laughed easily.

Ruby shook her head behind the bar, furtively looking around for Granny before texting Henry.

_Dude, did u no theyre having breakfast together 2day? U got skill, kid. Srsly._

* * *

"Wait, you're not telling the story in order!" Regina almost pouted, and Emma definitely loved it. "What did he say when you told him you were interested in his sister?"

It had been a risk telling Regina this one, considering her almost absurdly strong jealous streak: the story of her first pursuit of another girl. But, since Emma had been about Henry's age at the time of said pursuit, she took the risk and figured Regina would be alright with it. And indeed, she was.

"He told me he didn't mind, because he wanted my foster brother instead of me anyway," Emma shrugged, tickled by Regina's laughter. The older woman chanced a glance into the blonde's eyes, searching for the usual shutters behind them. She sobered somewhat, picking at Emma's plate with her fork.

"It sounds like that home wasn't _too_ terrible," she asked rather than stated softly, not meeting Emma's eyes.

The younger woman shrugged. "It _was_ probably the best one I had," she said. "But when it came down to it, and people in school found out - like I said, kids can be..." she trailed off and Regina nodded quietly. "... my foster parents didn't like the rocks that started coming through their window with papers taped on them saying "dyke" and stuff like that. They were real torn up about it, but they felt like they had to send me to another family."

Emma's hand reached for the glass of orange juice Regina had insisted on ordering her, but was stopped by Regina's outstretched fingers. Their eyes connected as their hands did, and electricity jolted through the entire restaurant.

_Oh my god, Regina Mills is practically holding my hand in public. Oh my god, Regina Mills is practically holding my hand in public. Is the world about to end? Holy shit._

As though reading Emma's thoughts, Regina smirked slightly, but not unkindly. She kept her fingers on Emma's hand, however.

"Do you think anyone's going to give Henry a problem in school?"

To her surprise, Emma chuckled. "'Baby, Henry's _friends_ may know you as Regina Mills, Henry's mom, but everyone _else_?"

"The Evil Queen," they said in unison, Regina rather wryly and Emma hesitatingly, as though frightened of offending her.

_She called me 'baby' again._

_Oh shit, did she hear me slip again? I've gotta stop doing that._

_Ignore it and carry on naturally._

"And his other mother feels compelled to carry a _gun_ everywhere," Regina pointed out mildly.

"Hey, it's part of the job description!"

Regina scoffed lightly. "Yes, like being a charming fool is part of your father's." Emma stuck her tongue out at her.

"Speak of the devil," she murmured warningly as David walked into the diner and over to their table, hands shoved deep into his pockets.

Their hands flew apart like ghosts.

"Good morning," he said, somewhat too cheerily. "Are you, uh, ready for work?" he asked Regina gingerly.

"David, has Regina ever _not_ been ready for work?" Emma deadpanned. The three of them took a moment to reflect on her consistently impeccable appearance and almost uncanny ability to shift into Mayor-mode faster than anyone could blink.

"Fair point," David conceded, again too cheerily, and Regina widened her eyes briefly, almost playfully, at Emma, standing while reaching for her wallet.

"No, no, I asked you, I've got this time," Emma told her, stilling Regina's hand in its pursuit of cash. David pursed his lips and cautiously looked anywhere but at his daughter insisting on paying for his former nemesis's apple pancakes and coffee. This was going to be an awkward morning.

* * *

As it turned out, the awkwardness abated - as Emma predicted - once they both began focusing on what needed to be done at the shelter. Jaq the (former) mouse had been taking care of it after the Curse broke, until Gus - Billy - was murdered. He'd then joined with Lucifer the (former) cat (because really, he had loved the mice that sought to tease him so) to ban together against King George in Billy's name. David had needed to halt their plans for vengeance many times while Emma was away, and his daughter had now taken on that grating and tedious task.

David's filling Regina in on someone else's thwarted attempts at vengeance rang oddly in the Queen's ears, and his hand protectively hovering over her lower back as she rose up on a stool to view the medicines on the higher shelves while they were talking sent an odd shiver up her spine. He must have felt it, and removed his hand, but remained extra alert until she climbed gracefully down from the stool. Regina wondered idly if he was being protective of her as a woman - _ugh,_ she thought bitterly, suppressing the need to gag - or as the person whom his daughter seemed to... well... _love_. She allowed her thoughts to remain deliberately ambiguous.

"And _this_," David said with annoying upbeat fanfare, opening the door to the inner room of the shelter, "is where all our friends live." He opened his arms to gesture at the room around him: large cages with injured birds, rabbits, some on-the-mend looking kittens greeted her.

She tutted slightly. "No, no, this won't do," she told him authoritatively as she immediately swooped around to each cage, sticking in her fingers periodically to offer her scent as a new person to the creatures within. "Animals aren't meant for cages, _Charming_, so we'll really need to - "

"But horses stay in stables," he interrupted in protest, looking at her as though he'd never quite seen her. Or never quite seen her as a full person, with concerns beyond vengeance, her son, or Daniel. Or his daughter.

She paused darkly. "Only at night," she countered softly. "He... _Daniel... _used to let them out to do as they pleased every morning, as I intend to begin doing with all the horses at Storybrooke's stables. There is sufficient ground surrounding the area for them to roam safely."

David nodded slowly, wondering why he had never known her to have such a deep passion for animals before.

Her eyes bore into his, and she saw Emma's curious compassion shining out of them along with his question, his surprise at her rage that non-human animals should be confined, though she'd spent decades confining, torturing, and killing human beings.

"They always treated me - and each other - better than almost any person did," she said softly as an explanation to his unasked "why?", squatting next to a cage with two sad-eyed kittens and opening it to scoop them out into her arms as she did so, eyes not leaving his.

"I'm quite skilled at caring for them, David," she informed him, her mayorly clip returning as though it had never been gone, "so I would like as many accommodations to do so properly as I can have. Can I count on the cooperation of our _reigning Prince_?" she finished somewhat mockingly, but he sensed only residual venom in her tone.

Still stunned by how she had opened herself to him, if only briefly - perhaps that experience of begging him to let her try to save Daniel, of him having come back into the stables to find her alone, weeping and grieved beyond comprehension, had truly done something to change her relationship with him, not to mention her now almost-acknowledged love for his daughter - her nodded briskly, thanked her for taking over the shelter, and excused himself.

She didn't even turn to watch him leave as she settled herself on the floor amongst the animals, looking around the room and pondering the best way to open up this space into a proper home for them.

_Henry, I have a question. It's my first day of work, and I don't like that the animals in the shelter are kept in cages. Would you mind if I used magic to rearrange some of the shelter itself? If you don't want me to, I will simply request that the place be renovated._

The response was faster and more enthusiastic than she'd expected.

_Sure! Go for it - I can't wait to see what kind of environment you create for them! I trust you, Mom._

She smiled and set to work.

* * *

Regina didn't hear the car pulling into the dusty driveway several hours later, too busy putting the finishing touches on the expanded habitat she had created.

She'd removed the roof in the non-hospital and office part of the building: the living space of the animals was now nearly open-air, cut off only by a broad, viney dome that reached many dozens of feet above the former ceiling level. She'd vanished the walls of their living quarters as well, taking particular care to expand them broadly, the only containment a bushel of vines that she had spotted by the back of the building. She had magicked these vines to expand in a wide circle, the ground trembling slightly as its roots grew out to form a much wider plant, guiding its vines up and towards each other to create the dome that thistled together high above the ground, a natural encasement of a minimally restrictive new environment. She vanished the creatures' cages with relish - knowing all too well what it was to be caged - but kept the beds, perching wires, and cedar grounding that they seemed to love scattered comfortably throughout what could now more properly be called a garden than a shelter.

Sweat had formed on her brow - this kind of constructive magic was too rarely used by the Queen, especially with the changes Storybrooke wrought upon magic's nature - and her body was exhausted, but the animals in the shelter seemed pleased with her changes, and so was she. She couldn't wait to bring Henry and Emma to see what she'd done.

"_Wow_."

The awed whisper from behind her startled her to the point of jumping higher than she would ever admit. She had been away from humans and appreciating the solitude for so many hours, disconnected even from her cell phone since that text from Henry which gave her permission to use magic, and was somewhat stunned to hear a human voice - especially _that_ voice - so close to her.

She spun and was nearly mouth-to-mouth with Emma Swan, who was gazing up and around at the newly-done shelter with obvious appreciation. "Wow," she whispered again, acting for Regina's sake as though she hadn't seen the woman jump a mile high at her intrusion.

Oddly, it was the smell of french fries amongst newly grown vines and moss that roused Regina from her shock. Emma didn't pretend not to notice, and held up one hand, which had a take-out bag from Granny's in it. "You didn't bring food with you this morning, and Ruby said you hadn't called anything in, so I thought you'd be hungry," she shrugged by way of explanation.

She held up her other hand, which Regina hadn't noticed until that moment was gently and protectively coddling a very tiny, very grey, very fierce and fiercely lovable puppy. "And I guess all the wanderers in Storybrooke know it's your first day on the job, because I found this little one on the side of the road on the way here."

Regina gasped softly as she took the baby gently from Emma's hand, holding it softly in her own. "Hello," she whispered, and its sandpaper tongue poked out and traced its way across the knuckle of Regina's thumb.

"_Regina_," Emma whispered in awe, putting down the bag from Granny's on the desk that stood in the office space that opened up into the garden Regina had created. Her heart fluttered at the beauty of the woman no one else - except for her and now Henry, and maybe, just maybe, sometimes, Ruby and her father - seemed to understand, or care to understand, cooing happily at the tiny life she held in hands that had once destroyed hundreds.

The Queen looked up at the deepened, heady quality to Emma's whisper, and she found herself immediately lost in the way that Emma's eyes were transfixed on the journey between her lips and her eyes; the way her hands reverently reached up to wipe ever-so-slightly sweaty hair off of the brunette's forehead; the way her breath tingled Regina's lips as she asked with her eyes if she could - _finally_ - take her lips with her own.

"_Yes_," Regina breathed by way of answering the blonde's unspoken question, her own eyes drifting to the younger woman's lips as they leaned forward slowly, cautiously, excitedly.

Their bodies couldn't meet because of the puppy Regina was still holding tenderly, but their lips were going to. Both women felt the others' breath hitch in anticipation.

A sudden high-pitched yap jolted both women apart as the puppy had reared itself tentatively on its hind legs, looking up expectantly at the Sheriff and the Queen, as it prepared to jump down from Regina's hands towards the desk where Emma had placed Regina's lunch from Granny's. The kittens, birds, and rabbits had silently - as though not wanting to interrupt what they intuited was a very special moment, and also knowing they probably shouldn't be caught at their game - torn apart the lunch bag, chewing and pecking into the grilled vegetable wrap and fries that Emma brought her.

Upon feeling the humans' attention fixed on them, they all froze, mid-chew, staring at the shocked, emotionally and sexually frustrated women, who were staring right back at them, eyebrows almost as sky-high as the vined dome Regina had magicked for them.

The two women turned to each other again, a combination of keen disappointment and amusement etched deeply into both of their expressions. Many moments passed by before, without warning, they broke into deep, belly-rumbling laughter, resonating so powerfully throughout their entire bodies that the puppy felt it in its own little belly. Regina scooted it gently down onto the table before reaching up to grip Emma's shoulders hysterically, Emma's hands looping around to her waist, supporting each other as they laughed on and on into the shining afternoon.

* * *

"Are we seriously never going to get to kiss?" Emma asked her humorously as they resignedly sat down to watch the creatures gobble down Regina's lunch, Regina having laughingly promised to magic a door between the office and the garden and Emma having promised to bring Regina back more food - actually for her this time - at the end of her shift.

Regina thought silently of her birthday plans for Emma and smiled mysteriously at the blonde, standing up and striding into the garden. "You'd best get back to work, Ms. Swan. I have a feeling the animals did us a favor: you might never have gotten back to that very busy job of yours if our lips _did_ touch."

Her seductive tone set Emma's body on fire, as did the lightness in her smile.

* * *

The curves of the other's body, the heady feeling of the other's breath on her lips, and the glistenings of love and desire in the other's eyes refused to leave the minds or bodies of either woman for the rest of the day and deep into that night.


	14. Chapter 14

**So this one is a bit long, but it includes both Emma's birthday party; everyone's gifts for Emma; and may or may not include something I think we've all been waiting for! ;)**

**I hope you enjoy, and please review if you can to spread the love!**

* * *

_Hey Mom. Uh, weird question. Snow wants to know what time everyone should meet here tomorrow..._

As Henry expected, his grandmother's phone rang mere seconds later.

The past couple of days had been wonderful, if isolated: Emma had been almost constantly occupied with her Sheriff duties, only having time to stop by to bring Regina a brief lunch every day, and Regina herself had been constantly occupied, as well, continuing her renovations of the animal shelter and splitting her time between there and the stables. The Queen found that while she missed the blonde's presence more than she cared to admit, the texts she received from her throughout the day - _Hey, Leroy's here and annoying me: thinking of u! _and _Omg, y do meetings take SO LONG?_ - provided her a sense of being cared for, being thought of, being a... friend. And she found herself happy with this, though very excited - and achingly nervous - to finally get to spend good time with the blonde at her birthday festivities...

Which is why Henry was texting her, and why she didn't even bother responding to him, dialing Snow's number instead.

"Regina! I just asked Henry to text you - "

"Oh, I received his text, dear, which is precisely why I'm calling you: I don't want you to think I'm doing it just for the pleasure of hearing your voice." Her tone was dry more than it was dangerous, but there was suppressed rage boiling under the surface. "Don't you _ever _put my son in the middle of our conflicts again. If you have a question for _me_, Your _Highness_, you will ask _me._"

Henry chewed his cereal slowly, staring at Snow out of the corner of his eye, observing how she looked much like he imagined a rabbit encountering a very hungry fox must look, and he imagined he had a very good idea of what his mom was saying, and how she was saying it. He knew that now - since Operation Phoenix had started - she was much more bark than bite, but _he_ was the one with faith in her, not Snow, and he found the parts of Regina that were inside him unaccountably amused by the younger woman's distress.

"Um, yes, Regina, I'm sorry, I just thought it would be easier to - "

"I'm terribly busy and am not remotely interested in the thought process that led you to use my son as a go-between in our disagreements, Snow. What I _am_ interested in, however, is the fact that you think - after we _explicitly _discussed otherwise - that Emma's birthday party will be held in _your _apartment?"

Snow looked to David for help, who shrugged supportively, shaking his head with his eyebrows raised, not knowing what she should say.

"I just thought everyone might be more comfortable - "

"And is this _everyone's _birthday party, or is it _Emma's_, Snow?"

"Emma's," she murmured, hearing the approaching victory in Regina's voice and resigning herself to it. She could just see the Queen's smirk.

"Precisely. And, as we've already decided, it would be nice for Emma to have a change of scenery, as well as a bigger, more accommodating space, considering that Henry wants to invite his friends, for _her_ party. Is that not correct?"

"Yes," Snow mumbled, and Henry suppressed a chortle.

"Whose side are you on, kid?" Charming joked to him in a whisper.

Henry shrugged laughingly, and Charming smiled indulgently at the child. Catching on, so did Snow. It was surreal, at best, to be slapped around by Regina regarding what would make her daughter happiest, but at least they were arguing about parties instead of crushed hearts now, right?

"There, then that settles matters. I would like the party to be over by eight so that the children have adequate time to settle down and go to sleep afterwards, so if you feel compelled to come and set things up with me, I'll accept your presence at three o'clock. Sharp. No earlier."

The phone clicked. "Yes, ma'am," Snow muttered into the dial tone.

* * *

Around ten that evening, Emma was settling into bed early: it had been a long, frustrating day at the office, and it was Henry's night with Regina. Wanting to respect the two of their time alone together, she had simply come home, slightly tipsy, after the day she'd had, and the day she was not happily anticipating having tomorrow: her birthday was the next day. No one had said anything about it to her: well, no one_ knew_ when her birthday was except for Henry, and maybe Regina, if she even remembered what Emma had told her that night they met.

She shouldn't be disappointed that they didn't seem to remember. Henry was just a kid, and Regina really seemed to hate her at the time. And anyway, if Henry's book told it right, her birthday was also the anniversary of the Curse, so if Regina registered the date at all, she probably had other things on her mind.

Sighing deeply, she wondered why she hadn't mentioned it to anyone. She realized with a jolt that she didn't have to wonder: she knew. She was terrified that no one would... _care_. Her foster parents had always _known_, but with the exception of a few, no one had really... _done_ anything about it. She closed her eyes and tried to clear her head.

Her phone buzzed.

She flipped it open eagerly after seeing who it was from.

_Good night, twenty-eight year old._

Her heart flipped nearly out of her chest. _Regina knew?! _A smile tore across her face until she realized she didn't know what to type.

_Good night - - hey, I don't even know how old u r!_

A sufficient layer of humor to protect her from the emotional overflow that was knowing that Regina had remembered her birthday.

_Stick around until my birthday and find out, Ms. Swan. Sleep well, now: you want to be rested up for your big day._

Regina smiled as she imagined - accurately - the pleased shock that was running through Emma. This had been part of the plan: Emma would not, Regina had argued, take well to a party that was completely a surprise. But with some tender cushioning, she would have the time of her life.

_Big day, huh? I didn't even think anyone knew. And don't think I'm ignoring the part about ur bday. I wanna know when it is!_

_In good time, my dear. For now, breakfast at Granny's? 7 am too early?_

_Sounds like the best birthday ever!_

Regina smiled broadly. _Oh, if she only knew_.

* * *

Emma was awoken at 6:30 by a text from Regina.

_Good morning, twenty-nine year old. _

She smiled and stretched contentedly.

_Yep. Best birthday ever! See you soon._

She showered and got dressed in a hurry and was out the door before Snow and Charming even had time to be awkward about playing their part of the birthday plan: pretending they had no idea what day it was.

It occurred to Charming as Emma swept out the door excitedly that maybe that was one of the reasons Regina invited her out to breakfast: to make the morning less awkward for he and Snow. He dismissed the thought with a shrug and turned his attention back to the gifts Snow was nudging him to help her wrap.

"Special occasion, ladies?" Ruby asked with an innocent grin as she brought them their breakfasts.

"It's my birthday," Emma told her almost bashfully, and Regina smiled deeply at the way she blushed uncharacteristically.

"_Emma!_" the wolf-girl shrieked, causing half the diner to jump and turn to her. She waved them away carelessly. "Oh my _god_, why didn't you _tell_ me? I'll take you out this weekend, okay?"

Emma nodded dazedly, happily.

"You might have overdone it, y'know," Granny chided Ruby lightly in an undertone as the waitress waltzed behind the counter.

"Nah," she shrugged. "Em's so stunned that Regina remembered her day that she's not noticing _anything_ else around her."

Both women turned to the growing couple and nodded in agreement: it certainly did seem that way.

* * *

Knowing that Regina remembered her birthday sent Emma spiraling enthusiastically into the day, instead of kicking, screaming, and demanding cocoa and a bear claw. It meant so much more to her than she cared to admit that Regina remembered, and took her out to breakfast, too!

At 3:45, her phone buzzed as she was filing away the last page of a report on security at the bean field.

_Emma, I came back home to pick up some supplies, and now my car won't start. I would call Michael, but I thought that if you have time to give me a lift, it might be nice to spend a few minutes with you, since we've both been so busy the past few days._

Emma smiled broadly.

_Brt._

_Excuse me, Ms. Swan?_

_Be. Right. There. Your Majesty._

Both women smirked as Regina looked up and told everyone dryly, "She's on her way, and I honestly believe she has no idea."

The children and Ruby giggled gleefully and Ruby chuckled heartily.

The doorbell rang and the living room fell silent.

"Remember," Henry told them all in a hushed voice, readjusting his rainbow birthday hat, "it's _Happy birthday, Emma_, not _surprise_. Okay?"

Everyone nodded conspiratorially, Snow with raised eyebrows: he truly was his adoptive mother's son, wasn't he?

Ruby, however, had eyes only for Regina, who stopped briefly in front of the mirror in the hallway to primp her hair, check her lipstick, and - thinking she was unnoticed by any party-goers - bit her lip with her head cocked slightly, as though trying to decide something. Making up her mind, she unbuttoned an extra button of her crisp white blouse, red lace push-up bra producing an impressive amount of cleavage, straining against the remaining buttons. She smoothed her mini-skirt down one final time, and Ruby reflected idly on what a lucky woman Emma was as Regina, apparently satisfied, strutted to answer the door.

An extra hush fell over the surprise attendees as the door opened and they heard brief conversation.

"Wow, you look - uh - wow."

"Indeed," and they all could imagine Regina's pleased and deliberately condescending smirk. "Come in, won't you, while I just gather my things?"

Heels clacking down the hall, following by Emma's boots.

The Queen stepped to the side as soon as Emma entered the living room.

"Happy birthday, Emma!" about a dozen voices rang out, and the blonde froze in the doorway as Henry darted forward to squeeze her and Hansel tried to tiptoe to put a party hat on her.

"No, no, honey, Emma gets this one," Snow stepped forward, smiling, with a plastic purple crown in her hands. "Not exactly the crown I'd imagined, but..." she murmured, to great hilarity.

Ruby grinned widely at Emma as the blonde tried and failed to say something - anything - and Granny stood in the back of the room, observing everything, including Archie's broad smile as his eyes shifted between Regina and Emma; Neal's awkward isolation and incredibly forced smile as he, too, looked repeatedly between Emma and Regina; and Gretel, Grace, and Hansel's nudging of each other excitedly as Charming brought forward a rather large cake with twenty-nine candles, each with a flame of a slightly different hue.

The first words Emma could get out of her mouth were, "I'm not wearing that," pointing to the crown in Snow's hand as an uproar of laughter greeted her words.

"I tried to warn her that you wouldn't, dear, but as is typical, she wouldn't listen," Regina told her lightly, touching her back in support of her, trying to lessen the shock.

"Did you do all this?" Emma asked incredulously, still clinging to Henry as though she needed him to stabilize her (and, indeed, she did).

Regina smiled and looked away silently. "You might want to blow out those candles, dear, before your _charming_ father is blinded by the flames."

Laughter again, but more awkward this time, most present uncomfortable laughing at Regina's quips. Emma's laughter was whole-hearted, however, as Henry detached himself and scurried off to grab a camera.

"Make a wish, Emma!" he called.

Regina asked Michael with her eyes if he'd take the camera from Henry, and, understanding instantly, he nudged the child off to stand with Emma and Regina, the older woman's hand still protectively on the overwhelmed but ecstatically happy younger woman's back.

Tears were flooding Emma's eyes now, and she hid them by bending down to kiss Henry's head again. "I already have my wish, kid," she told him earnestly.

"Well, make another one!" he told her gamely, his smile bigger than she'd ever seen it: his family was together, she realized. Sort of. Not officially. But did that matter?

She looked at Regina intently and closed her eyes as a hush fell over the room. She'd seen people do this in movies, and she'd seen foster siblings do this as she stood alone on the opposite side of crowded rooms. An odd sensation of suddenly participating in something that had always been foreign to her washed over her.

_What a weird family_, she found herself thinking, staring around the room. There were her parents, looking for all the world like they were her own age, and indeed, they kind of were, given that she'd been roommates with one of them and given them both advice about their blossoming relationship when one of them had been married to another person. A werewolf and her grandmother, who had taken Emma in when she'd had nowhere to go. A librarian who'd been locked up for almost three decades, who now could remember nothing of her life before that, but was rebuilding herself with the help of a new girlfriend and communal events like this one. A human-turned-cricket-turned-human, who had become one of her closest friends and whom she would honestly want Henry to live with if anything ever happened to her and Regina. _Regina_. The mother of her child, a woman whom she'd sworn at some points to bring down, kill, destroy, and who had tried to put her under a sleeping curse to prevent her from breaking _the _Curse. Whom she was now beginning to date, to realize that they feared each other so intensely the whole time because they quite possibly could become each other's happiness. Henry, the child who would not have been born if she'd grown up with her parents, and Neal, the man whose lost childhood brought them all together, whose sperm had given Henry to her and Regina. Fairytale children whom Emma had reunited with their father, one of whom her son had a crush on, and one fairy tale child - Grace - whose father (who was conspicuously absent) had once tried to kill her because she couldn't make his magical hat work: until, of course, she touched Regina's arm and - somehow - that connection had torn a whole in reality and connected two realms. Which brought her back, of course, to Regina.

_Regina_.

She made her wish.

She blew out her candles.

Singing and cheering ensued, and Regina joyfully passed around the cake she'd baked - cutting Snow a smaller piece than everyone else, Emma couldn't help but notice with a small, amused sigh and shake of her head - as Emma tried to wrap her head around her learning that Regina apparently - _why would I be surprised?_ - had a quite melodious singing voice.

Regina found herself wondering what the blonde had wished for, remembering too well what she'd wished for last year, and hoping that this - and her and Henry's gifts later - qualified as fulfilling her wish, if a year late.

* * *

The sounds of Mario Kart and music from Henry's laptop accompanied shouts of laughter and squeals of delight. Snow looked particularly weepy eyed for most of the afternoon, and Charming had to excuse himself several times, as it was the first time celebrating their daughter's birth aside from that desperate, pre-death kiss they'd shared immediately after she was born.

Emma stuck to Regina's side for most of the party, insisting on helping her with food and drinks, remembering what had happened last time they'd all attended a celebration together.

But Gretel and Grace stole Emma's attention and separated she and Regina for a few moments, leaving Regina alone to stare around the room and simply... think.

She looked at Archie, laughing with Michael as they scooted around the Mario Kart track, and thought about her mother, who had framed her for his not-murder.

_You wanted me broken._

She stared at Ruby and Belle, who were talking animatedly to Henry and Hansel, and thought about what it felt like to feel responsible for your lover's death, even if it had been out of your control.

_Love is weakness, Regina._

She gazed, transfixed, at the happiness of Gretel and Grace, the excitedness with which they were talking to Emma, and she thought of the childhoods she had taken away from each of them.

_I made a wish on this cupcake I bought myself... to not be alone on my birthday. _

She shifted her eyes to Snow and Charming, who were also watching Emma, with their arms around each other, obviously pleased with the day but silently mourning the years she'd taken from them. From their daughter. From the woman she was now courting.

_I will destroy your happiness: if it is the last thing I do._

With a jolt, she said to no one in particular that she was going to get refreshers for everyone's drinks, heels clacking somewhat unsteadily into the kitchen. She thought no one would notice.

Emma did.

Again.

As soon as she could extract herself from Gretel and Grace, she followed.

She was greeted by a view of Regina's back, bent over a drink tray. Soft bursts of heart-wrenching sobs wracked the brunette's form. Emma was across the kitchen in two strides, reaching to touch the Queen's waist but hesitating, unsure if she'd welcome the touch.

"Regina?" she asked, as softly as she could. The older woman jumped at the sound, straightening immediately and catching her breath.

"Emma," she clipped, desperately trying to hide the quaking in her voice. "You should be out there enjoying the festivities."

"I'm not gonna enjoy anything if you're in here crying," the blonde responded earnestly, not wanting to embarrass her, but not willing to leave unacknowledged the fact that she'd been weeping. She reached gently for Regina's arm, which the brunette ripped away, turning her back again.

"You don't have to say things like that just because you're supposed to be some great _Savior_," Regina snapped, tears coating her accusation. Emma blinked.

"Regina, that's not..." Laughter erupted from the living room, and suddenly Emma understood what had driven the Queen into the kitchen, alone, with tears to cry and grief to let out. "Regina, please - "

"No!" the Queen insisted, control that she'd been working so hard to hone over the past week or so rapidly coming undone. "I don't get to have your compassion! I'm the reason you've never had any of this, Emma. And when I finally try to make things better, what do I get? My_ mother_ dead in my arms, like Daniel all those years ago! And don't you think I feel just a little disloyal that I am so childishly pursuing _you_, _you_ of all people, the _daughter_ of the woman who is responsible for so _innocently_ causing someone else to _murder _both Daniel and my mother? So this, Ms. Swan, is what I deserve: not your compassion, not your _affection_, not your straight-laced fairy tale hero sanctimoniousness. Because this is all I've ever done: ripped children away from their parents! Hansel, Gretel, Grace. Pinnochio. _You_."

She paused briefly for breath and Emma took her chance before it passed. "Listen, I don't know what sanctiwhatsit means, but what I _do_ know is that you're not making sense."

"Ms. Swan, if you're going to insist on - "

"No, Regina, damnit, hear me out. You say you deserve to be all alone in this damned kitchen, fine, whatever, I get why you'd say that if you really want to flagellate yourself - yeah, be impressed, I know some words. But if you're insisting on punishing yourself, or the universe punishing you - which I don't think you deserve anyway, but let's put that on the side for now - isn't losing Daniel and your mother punishment enough? And listen, Snow might have given birth to me, but I consider her family because she trusted me and took me in when I didn't have anywhere, not because she's some mothery figure to me. So if you're not comfortable _pursuing_ me because of her connection to so much misery in your life, I respect that, but if you want this, you're just giving yourself more punishment you don't deserve - "

"_Don't deserve? _Have you not been paying attention, Sheriff Swan? I am exactly the reason you didn't have _any_ parental figures - "

"You. Didn't. Put. Me. In. That. Wardrobe." Their faces were impossibly close together, a discomfort both women were oddly at home in, rage pouring through both of their eyes: Regina's rage, at herself, Emma's rage, at the world for working so hard to break this woman in front of her.

"I made the wardrobe _necessary_, _Emma_: must we always fall back into this tedious game of circular logic?" Her voice shook as she tried and failed not to raise it too loudly, and the fear in her anger forcefully reminded Emma of another time they had fought like this, face to face, both needing the same thing, but not quite recognizing it yet.

_Yes, lecture me until his oxygen runs out!_

Remembering this, Emma also knew that they were on the cusp of bridging the gap, the edge of understanding, approaching the point of no return, their relationship irrevocably changing, even if both refused to admit it.

_What do you need me to do?_

_Help me._

"Yeah, we do have to do this, if you're gonna keep insisting that you're someone you're not." Regina rolled her eyes at her, and Emma lost her volume control, voice rising to match what Regina's had been a moment ago. "We all deserve as many chances as we need until the world stops fucking us over, Regina! And I've got some other news for you, _Your Majesty_; I know everyone likes to say that this Curse thing was the worst thing ever, but look at Ruby! Look at Archie! If Henry's book tells it right, they spent all their lives in that damned forest either being lied to or repenting, over and over and over. Here, they got to start again."

Regina blinked and her lips parted slightly. Unable to stop now that she'd begun, Emma pressed on. "And _me_! I don't _want_ to be a _princess_, Regina: I would have been _miserable_ growing up in that life! And I'm not even going to _talk_ about the fact that Henry wouldn't have even been _born_ without you. And..." she paused, lowering her voice intimately, catching her breath and her emotions. "... and without that Curse, _we_ wouldn't be possible."

For the first time since Emma began her rant, Regina stared into her eyes with something akin to awe. Two tears slid out of her unblinking eyes as Emma touch her elbows gently, as the older woman had crossed her arms across her chest defensively when their confrontation began.

Emma continued softly. "So yeah, Regina, we actually _must_ always fall back into this tedious game of circular logic, until you understand that you are an_ amazing_ person, and becoming moreso every day. I gave up on you once, and I'm damned if I'm ever gonna do it again, even if you tell me I should. Unless you ever don't _want_ me, in which case I'll leave and quietly wait forever for you."

Silence.

Silence.

More silence.

Their eyes never left each other.

Henry's head appeared above Hansel's, which was stacked below Gretel's, which was tucked under Grace's chin, all in a row in the doorway. They blinked almost in unison and held their breath collectively.

Then.

"I didn't know you were capable of listening so closely that you could repeat my words verbatim, Ms. Swan. I must say, I'm impressed." Her words were biting, but her tone utterly lacked cruelty. Emma tossed up her hands incredulously.

"Really, Regina? Out of _everything_ I just said, _that's_ what you're going with?"

The children gulped in unison as they awaited Regina's response to Emma's exasperation.

They were utterly bewildered when both women burst into laughter a repeat of their hysterics after their almost-kiss the other morning. Henry was especially amazed, never having seen a grown-up make his mother laugh so. Regina fell forward into Emma's chest, laughing until tears squeezed out of screwed-shut eyes, and the children realized with another round of surprise that Regina's shaking from laughter had become uncontrollable sobs, full of the grief of letting go, the acute pain that accompanies sweet relief.

Emma seemed utterly unsurprised, kissing Regina's hair and cooing soothing words into her ear while her arms held her close and her hands kept her breathing.

Charming appeared behind the stack of confused children and shooed them away silently, his heart twinging strangely as he watched his daughter comfort the woman who had spent entire lifetimes trying to destroy his love. His heart ached for the years he'd lost with his child, but he never felt as strongly as he did in that moment that he and Snow had done the right thing in sending her away. Look how she'd turned out. _Absolutely beautiful_.

Regina sniffed - somehow, with dignity - as she pulled back from Emma's chest and looked into her eyes.

"Some _birthday_ I'm giving you," she muttered apologetically.

"Hey," Emma chided firmly, taking Regina's face into her hands and swiping away her tears with her thumbs, "this is the best birthday I've ever had." She put a gentle finger in front of te brunette's lips as the older woman opened her mouth to protest. "And no, _not_ because of the Curse. Because I've never spent my birthday with the two people I care about most. And I wouldn't have either of you _without_ the Curse."

Charming cleared his throat as the Emma tilted her mouth lower, the better to allow Regina to kiss her, if she wanted to. It was certainly what Emma wanted.

Until she registered that Charming was standing behind them.

_Fucking twat-block_, Emma thought, supremely irritated, as Regina spun around to wipe her tears and fix her slightly running make-up with dignity.

"Sorry, Emma, but your mom might have a coronary if you don't come out here to open your presents." He smiled apologetically. "We're both really excited."

She nodded dazedly. "Uh, right. Presents. Be out in a second."

He disappeared from the doorway and she turned back to Regina tentatively.

"Regina, I'm - "

"No matter, dear. Your mother cannot resist her tendency to insert herself into my most intimate affairs, I suppose, just as I cannot resist taking my own little victories over her in every way I can. Which is, I assure you, often unsatisfactorily simple."

Emma chuckled as Regina, exuding renewed confidence, strutted past her out into the living room, twitching her ass in her miniskirt a little more than normal for Emma's benefit. Emma whistled very softly, and Regina smirked but pretended not to notice.

* * *

"So, uh, how does his work?" Emma asked awkwardly.

"Sit down," Snow encouraged enthusiastically, pointing Emma into the most throne-like seat Regina had. Emma glanced at her, and Regina - standing alone behind everyone, arms crossed, ghost of a smirk on her face - simply cocked one eyebrow and shook her head in amused annoyance. Emma smiled and sat down, the children crowding around her feet, each with presents in their hands, almost bursting with excitement.

"Kids first!" Hansel exclaimed as the adults sat down on couches beside and behind them, earning a magnificent smile from Henry. He blushed and Emma raised her eyebrows at Regina once, who smiled broadly and returned the gesture.

Gretel gave Emma a wood carving her father had taught her to whittle of a young woman with flowing hair, a sword in her hand and boots on her feet that looked remarkably like Emma's. So did the smirk on her face, and the leather jacket gracing her upper body. It was excellent work, and Emma adored it. Gretel beamed.

Hansel's gift was the biggest cupcake that Emma had ever seen, topped with an enormous amount of rainbow frosting, and he proudly proclaimed that he baked it without any help.

Grace had drawn Emma a stunningly accurate map of the Enchanted Forest, knowing of the bean fields and thinking it would come in handy if and when they returned. Regina raised her eyebrows in the back of the room, impressed.

Henry insisted on being skipped and going last, and Emma noticed the conspiratorial glance he shared across the room with Regina, who winked at him and mouthed, "that's my boy."

Archie gifted Emma with a large supply of Apollo bars and a compass, telling her sweetly that she had helped him find his way, and he hoped his gift would remind her of his gratitude. Emma surprised everyone - herself included - by hugging him long and tight.

Ruby slipped Emma a neatly wrapped package from she and Belle that they both said she should unwrap later, not in front of the children. In her bedroom. Not necessarily alone.

"Thank you, Ruby," Charming interrupted awkwardly, and Emma flushed red as Ruby and Belle both shrugged unapologetically and told Emma to enjoy. Ruby turned around and winked at Regina, and Emma thought she had a fair idea of what they'd gotten her. She winked her thanks at both of them.

Michael gave Emma a voucher for a revamp of her car, which had been stalling a lot on her lately. Emma laughed as she saw Regina roll her eyes at him - still pretending to hate that yellow bug - in the background, unseen by anyone but her.

Neal awkwardly passed his gift forward to Emma, his eyes down as she opened it. She pursed her lips as she saw that it was the dream catcher they'd found in that motel room. She took a deep breath and offered him a cordial thank you, thinking she would give it to Henry as a nice addition to his bedroom.

Snow and Charming came forward with several packages, some very oddly shaped, all well wrapped. Regina's lips were thin as a pencil line in the back of the room, and Emma looked over their shoulders to offer her a small smile of reassurance.

Charming's first sword. Horse riding gear that, Emma was grateful, resembled Regina's more than anything more overtly feminine. A necklace that Snow said belonged to her mother. Regina stiffened terribly in the back of the room as Henry crawled away subtly to hold her hand. Emma winked at him gratefully as she reflected sadly that they'd probably planned on giving Emma this necklace on a birthday much earlier than her twenty-ninth.

The last gift - Emma was weary of parental emotions by now, and was pleased to be on the last one, not knowing if she could control her tears much longer (Snow and especially Charming certainly weren't even trying to stem the flow) - Emma opened with some trepidation, wondering how much more emotional things could possibly get.

A new toaster.

The blonde erupted into hysterical laughter as Snow laughed along, all the while trying to tell the story of Emma taking out her frustration on their last one. She graciously left out the part that it had been anger at Regina that Emma had been venting.

When the laughter subsided, an odd hush swept over the room as Regina came forward with Henry. Emma's heart stopped as she wondered what this woman possibly would give her.

She held out a pristine manilla envelope, and Emma furrowed her brow in confusion.

"Opening it might alleviate some of that lack of understanding, Ms. Swan," Regina told her evenly. Fake-glaring at her, Emma looked inside.

Her heart leapt and her stomach dropped as though she were on a rapidly descending roller coaster.

"_Regina_," she whispered.

"What is it?" Gretel prompted eagerly.

"Adoption papers," Emma whispered. "You..." She looked up at Regina incredulously as Neal, Snow, and Charming shifted uncertainly. Archie, on the other hand, smiled. He had discussed this at length with Regina, and was pleased she had followed through. Not that he had doubted she would, but he _had_ thought she would do it a little more privately. Perhaps her desire to rub her and Emma's budding relationship in Snow's face was a little stronger than she'd suggested. Maybe they'd discuss it in their next session. He shook his head in happy exasperation.

"Henry and I have discussed it at length, and we decided - with your consent, of course, and there are many forms for you to fill out - that we would like to file to reverse the status of Henry's adoption so that you can go through the process of his becoming legally yours." She paused, taking a deep breath. "Ours."

"_Regina_," Emma breathed again. Regina merely beamed.

"Open mine next!" Henry told her, scrambling forward to present Emma with a rather large box.

Her brow furrowed again, unable to figure out what it was. She opened it.

A box.

In another box.

In another box, in another box, in another box, in another box, in another box.

"Kid, what the hell - "

All the children, and even Regina, were engaged in intense giggle fits, and Henry couldn't give Emma a coherent answer even if he wanted to. She gamely pressed on.

More boxes. They were all painted different colors, and she wondered how long Henry had worked on this. She also wondered if there was actually anything inside.

There was. A tiny, simple, unpainted box, with cotton inside it. She sifted through the cotton curiously, not thinking she would have struck Henry as the jewelry type. But it wasn't jewelry.

It was a key.

Eyes only for Regina, Emma looked up in shock.

"It was Henry's idea," the older woman whispered affectionately.

"I want to live with both my moms," he muttered, somewhat bashfully.

Snow opened her mouth, but Red reached out and put her hand on hers, shaking her head slightly. _Later_, she mouthed gently. Snow sighed, resigned.

Archie watched Emma's face closely as tears welled in her eyes. She scooped her son into her arms and kissed him fiercely on the head.

"More cake?" Snow asked everyone, high-pitched. Regina rolled her eyes - Emma had lost track of how many times she'd done so today and wondered vaguely how she wasn't dizzy by now - but accommodated her, turning the music back on and dolling out more cake to very eager children and their adult friends.

* * *

Henry had gone home with David and Snow more willingly than Emma might have thought when the party wrapped up, and she was surprised by this until he saw the wink he gave Regina and heard him whispered "Good luck!" to her.

_Little rascal_, she thought, realizing that he probably had been conspiring with Regina this whole time, to do... _what, exactly_?

"Are you alright, Emma? I hope the party wasn't overwhelming," Regina said as she closed the door behind the last of the guests.

"Yeah, I'm great, it was... _thank you._"

Regina merely smiled.

"Put on a jacket: I have one more gift for you," she commanded happily.

Stunned into obedience, Emma complied, and Regina skillfully ignored all her questions as she drove them to the edge of the forest.

* * *

"Hey, isn't this where we took the kids for Grace's birthday? I mean, the same path?"

"Do you have any objections?" Regina asked lightly, hiding her panic in the mildness of her question.

"No, no, not at all, I just... I'm trying to figure out what we're doing."

"Indeed," Regina murmured as she let the question drop and continued forward. Her hand reached for Emma's in the growing darkness as she heard the blonde stumble - again. Electricity sparked between their hands as Emma regained her balance - "damn roots," she muttered, and Regina rolled her eyes affectionately - and kept Regina's hand in hers, opening her fingers so they could intertwine with the brunette's. Regina's arm tensed momentarily.

_Then love again_.

She relaxed and let herself enjoy the connection.

The rest of the walk was silent, both women immensely enjoying the deep quiet - interrupted only by crickets, owls, and the sound of their footsteps on fresh earth - and their hand-holding.

Regina broke the silence reluctantly, but knew it was necessary if her gift was to be most impactful.

She stopped walking. "Emma, I..." Emma furrowed her brow, unused to hearing the Queen stammer.

"I'm afraid I need to blindfold you."

There didn't need to be much light left in the forest - the sun had all but set, remaining only in a few isolated streaks of deep red in the lowest regions of the sky - for Emma to see Regina's blush, and she felt heat cascading through her core at what she knew they were both thinking.

"Gee, Regina, you could ask me out to dinner first," Emma teased, her eyes drifting down to the older woman's lips.

"I believe I have," Regina flirted back, not missing a beat, and took a step closer to Emma as she removed a black satin blindfold from her pocket, which Emma deeply suspected was magicked to be bigger on the inside.

She licked her lips seductively as she raised her hands to Emma's face, asking with her eyes if it was alright with her.

"I'm game for absolutely anything you are, _Your Majesty_," Emma told her huskily.

Regina smiled enigmatically and slipped the blindfold over Emma's eyes, tightening it gently behind her head. She leaned in close to her ear. "We're very nearly there. No peaking, now."

Emma swallowed a groan of arousal - just barely - as Regina slid one hand around her waist and the other taking her hand, guiding her, talking her through each step, each root, each fallen branch, until, a minute or so later, she seemed satisfied with their location. She guided Emma forward to a smooth area of grass, and the blonde wondered aloud why the blindfold was necessary: wasn't this the lake they'd gone ice skating on? She knew what it looked like...

Regina said nothing, merely smiling as she raised her hands to remove the blindfold.

Magnificent swirls of light greeted Emma as she opened her eyes dazedly. The lake had become a pool of softly spiraling greens, beautifully billowing reds, and deep hues of floating purples that collectively put the Aurora Borealis to shame. The lights seemed to be emanating from inside the lake itself, still mostly frozen, but with elegant rainbows of undulating colors seeping out from cracks where water bled through, all regally reaching up towards the sky, mixing with the deep blue of dusk and shining off of the thousands of stars that were just achieving tonight's visibility. The trees surrounding the lake danced in the light that the women were bathing in, and the grass itself emanated an ethereal glow that seemed to Emma to say, simply, _always_.

The younger woman stepped forward, lips parted in awe, staring out at the lake as Regina stared at her, a soft smile gracing her features.

"What is it?" Emma asked softly, eyes feasting on the radiant beauty before her, speaking reverently as though in the presence of something numinous. And, indeed, she was.

"Magic," Regina whispered, moving closer to Emma and still not taking her eyes off of her. She had never seen the younger woman so relaxed, so moved, so peaceful. "Gold brought magic to Storybrooke by means of a True Love potion. I told you earlier that the magic had interacted with this lake, and it has: you're seeing what True Love would look like, if we could see it with our eyes."

"It's _beautiful_," Emma breathed passionately, and Regina banished all notions of love being weakness, eyes unable to move from the blonde's face, seeing the lights illuminating her features, dancing on her enraptured form perfectly.

"Yes, it is," Regina answered softly, eyes only for Emma.

Emma smiled. She took a deep breath and tried to absorb as much courage as possible from the beauty surrounding her. "Is that why the hat worked when I touched you, Regina? Way back with the wraith? Because True Love is magic?"

Regina's heart skipped several beats as the blonde turned to look at her.

"Wow," Emma whispered, almost having forgotten she'd asked such a life-altering question. The interactions of the glowing lake on Regina's skin was more beautiful than the younger woman could ever have imagined anything in the universe being. It was as though the lights weren't radiating from the lake at all, but from Regina's very soul. And, perhaps, they were.

"You are_ so_ beautiful," Emma murmured reverently, taking Regina's hands into hers, almost afraid to touch her face and contaminate the perfection of the glow.

"Yes," Regina whispered, terrified of what could come next - of scaring Emma away - but knowing that she needed to, that Emma was right: all of her life, all of her anguish, all of her agony, all of it created her ability to cast the Curse, and the Curse created their ability to have Henry, to have _each other_. It wasn't a justification, but it was a comfort. And anyway, Emma _had_ been the one to ask the question.

Emma's brow furrowed and Regina's stomach twisted. "Gee, Regina, a 'thank you' usually works just fine - " A lopsided smile formed on Emma's face, and understanding rushed through Regina's brain.

"No," she laughed softly. "I mean, thank you for calling me beautiful. So are you." Emma marveled at how open her voice sounded, and even Regina paused: she hadn't heard herself sound this way since... _Daniel_. "But I was answering your question: yes, we opened the portal when you touched me because True Love is the only magic powerful enough to transcend realms, to create magic even in a world that used to have none."

A tear tracked down Emma's face as she smiled incredulously at the woman in front of her. Light from the lake glistened off of it, making it the most beautiful tear Regina had ever seen.

"So this is... this is _real_," Emma whispered. "You're _real_. What I've been feeling is... _real_."

Regina's heart quaked. She needed to hear it. "And what is it that you've been feeling, Emma?"

The younger woman simply smiled, touching Regina's face with her hands and slowly, passionately, tenderly, kissing her forehead; temples; cheek bones; cheeks; nose; bridge of her nose; eyebrows; space between her eyebrows; eyelids; cheeks again; jawline; chin.

Both of their breaths hitched as Regina closed the gap between their bodies, shifting forward so that their forms were flush against each other, toe to toe, thigh to thigh, breasts to breasts, her hands on Emma's waist as Emma's hands tangled in her hair.

Though she had asked the question, Regina suddenly felt it unnecessary to hear the words, Emma having already responded with something so much more powerful. But she felt the need to say it herself. She placed her own kiss on Emma's nose, kissed her tear away, and took in her forest eyes, basking in the warmth of the lake's glow and the colors of stars being born dancing miracles on both of their faces.

"I love you, Emma Swan," she whispered, a radiant smile lighting up her face more than any magic - other than that which she shared with Emma and Henry - ever could.

Emma's pupils dilated wildly as she almost giggled with glee at hearing words that normally meant little to her, but between she and this woman, that meant entire histories coming together and creating the kind of affirmation that broke Curses, healed wounds, restored life, and created happiness. "I love you too, Regina Mills," Emma breathed, pouring her soul into each syllable.

The colors of the lake intensified as the words escaped her lips, reds becoming more starlike, purples ripening, greens blossoming as their breaths mingled like a life-giving windstorm in the slowly collapsing space between their mouths.

Regina's eyes fluttered closed as their lips finally met somewhere outside of their dreams, Emma smiling into the kiss as Regina's mouth opened willingly for her tongue. In the abundance of light surrounding them, neither woman noticed the golden thread that emanated from their lips, circling out throughout the entire town, resonating strongly at the town line and shattering the remnants of the Curse keeping Storybrooke residents trapped there.

Unaware and unconcerned with the rest of the world, Regina moaned softly into their kiss, the small sound the most beautiful and erotic thing Emma had ever heard. Her own groan echoed in Regina's mouth, reverberating in their dancing tongues, Emma exploring tastes she'd only ever dreamed about and Regina lost in the ecstatic sensation of being kissed so tenderly, so fully, so lovingly.

The older woman's tongue flickered across the mouth of the woman who was becoming her lover, moistening her slowly swelling lips as gentle love and passion fleshed out into heady desire and need, their hands roaming each other's bodies more freely, hips beginning to grind more desperately into each other, tongues clashing heavier inside both of their mouths, teeth emerging more often to claim plump lower lips and set still hotter fires in each others' cores.

"I want you," Regina whispered huskily as she bent her head lower to take the soft skin of Emma's neck into her mouth, biting down slightly underneath her ear as the blonde groaned.

"You sure?" Emma asked, her hands traveling from where they'd been exploring Regina's waist to the older woman's face, summoning up every ounce of control she had to still her body and stare into her darkened eyes.

"Are you going to run afterwards?" Regina asked, voice weighted with lust and residual pain, seeking healing.

"No," Emma answered immediately, truthfully, and answered the other question - too scary to ask - in Regina's eyes. "And I'm not going to get hurt, either," she assured her, eyes returning to Regina's lips as they both smiled, breathless. Seeing the reassurance she'd sought to provide glowing along with the enhanced colors from the lake in Regina's eyes, Emma's hands trailed back down her body, finding and highlighting every curve as she did so.

"Now, you were asking me for something?" she seduced, eyes darkening again as she took in the sexed disarray already evident on Regina's clothes and hair.

"Oh, I wasn't asking, Emma Swan," Regina whispered back, nipping at Emma's ear lustily as she pulled them both down to the ground, "I was _telling_."

Emma grinned headily, but realized what the brunette was doing and stopped. "Wait," she said, and the older woman immediately froze, clearly terrified. Emma kissed her lips reassuringly as she took off her coat, spreading it on the ground at their feet.

Tears of stunned appreciation flooded Regina's eyes as Emma grinned proudly at her. Without warning, Regina took the blonde's face into her hands and crashed their lips together, heat shuttling between them like a furnace, the lights of the lake burning like a supernovae.

She pulled Emma down on top of her with incredible agility and grace, both freezing at the intensity of the feeling of Emma's weight on top of Regina's body, legs intertwined and chests heaving with desperate arousal. Emma pushed herself up on one arm as she swiped the thumb of her other hand across Regina's lips, returning the brunette's excited smile before bringing her mouth down hard on Regina's, lips parted to allow their tongues to wage the war that their resistant and terrified hearts used to.

Emma ground her hips down into Regina's, willingness to control her need to fuck this woman senseless broken by the way Regina's fingers were snaking through her belt loops and bringing their bodies together, tilting her head up to grant Emma's hungry mouth access to her throat, Regina tugging successfully at the blonde's shirt all the while.

The moan that came from Regina's throat as she ran her fingers down Emma's newly bare skin set Emma's body alight, spurring her to lean back on her knees as Regina rose pliantly with her, connecting their mouths as though the feeling of each other's lips were keeping them both alive, Emma's trembling fingers rapidly unfastening each button of Regina's blouse. Regina's hands snaked behind Emma's back and made quick work of her bra, both women collapsing back on top of each other, now topless, though Emma promised herself she'd devote more time to the beauty of Regina's lingerie at another time.

Regina's desperate hands fumbled along Emma's belt line. "Please," she implored the blonde, who smiled and slid out of her jeans, bringing her underwear along with them, asking Regina with her eyes if it was alright to undress her fully, as well. In answer, the brunette slid out of her own miniskirt, leaving on only her heels as Emma climbed back on top of her.

Fully expecting the sex to proceed at a wild pace now that they were both essentially out of their troublesome clothing, Regina's breath hitched as Emma froze above her, their bodies connected, but Emma's stilled. Swooping down gently to capture her lips, Emma's tongue luxuriously mapped the inside of Regina's mouth as one of her hands explored the soft richness of her skin. "I love you," she whispered again, sliding her tongue down the older woman's collarbone erotically, kissing every centimeter of skin she was seeing and touching for the first time.

Tracing her entire body with kisses as she had done with her face, Emma slowly made her way down Regina's body, the older woman's stunned hands running across her naked back and through her blonde mane, a single tear sliding down the side of her face as she realized no one save Daniel had ever truly made love to her as the blonde was doing now.

She screamed out with pleasure as Emma bit down gently on her stomach, feeling the younger woman's smile against her skin.

"May I? Please? I've wanted to for _so_ long. If you want," Emma whispered headily, looking up at Regina, poised above her dripping cunt eagerly.

"Emma," was the only thing Regina could manage, pressing Emma's head down slightly as her form of permission. The blonde smiled and licked her lips, placing a very soft kiss on her cunt, eyes locked into Regina's.

"You are beautiful," she told her before allowing her tongue to slide through Regina's soaked core, her own moans of pleasure eliciting screams of ecstasy from the older woman as she slid two fingers inside her, keeping dedicated pressure on her clit with her tongue, lips, and, occasionally, gently, teeth. Regina's hips arched up into the blonde's mouth as her fingers tangled in her hair.

"Let go, Regina," Emma whispered into her cunt, and - for once - Regina listened, the combination of Emma's skilled pumping with her fingers - adding a third as Regina spread her legs wider - and ministrations of her tongue on exactly the right spot sent her entire body rigid, a scream of pure bliss ripping through her throat, Emma's name on her lips as her new lover helped her ride through every wave of the most intense orgasm she'd ever had.

Emma marked Regina's final shockwave with another firm, sweet kiss on her clit, sliding her fingers out of her delicately and licking them clean with relish. She gently crawled up Regina's body, smile radiating from her every pore as the colors from the lake shone ecstatically, leaning down on top of her protectively, placing one hand behind her head and using the other to brace her weight. She kissed her nose softly.

"I love you," Regina whispered, eyes still fluttered closed, hand running tenderly through the blonde's hair.

She felt Emma's shiver of delight, and it ran through her core. She felt Emma's own soaked center dripping down onto her thigh and grinned wickedly.

"'Gina, you can rest, just enjoy," Emma began, reading her look accurately.

"Oh, I am enjoying," Regina flirted dangerously, eyes sparkling as she flipped Emma over - the blonde's pleased groan egging her on - and slammed her wrists above her head lightning fast, holding them down with one hand as the other snaked down the blonde's body, exploring every curve she could reach happily.

"_You_, my dear, are flawless," she whispered, affection dripping with lust, into the blonde's ear as she ground her hips into Emma's.

"Reginaaa," Emma groaned helplessly, happily, her hips asking her question for her.

Never one to disappoint - unless she wanted to, and she so did not - Regina slid perfectly manicured fingertips deeply into Emma's cunt, the blonde thrusting desperately into Regina's hand. Regina's palm pressured Emma's clit as her own arching hips pushed her fingers deeper down inside the blonde, bringing them both close to climax - again.

Her hands tightened on Emma's wrists, pleased that Emma wasn't too tall for this to work, as she felt the blonde's body lose complete control. She smiled wildly and brought her lips crashing down on her love's, devouring Emma's orgasmic scream with her mouth and with her soul, kissing every part of her face softly as she pumped inside Emma in perfect timing to the powerful pulsations that were rocking her entire body. "I love you, Emma," she whispered as the younger woman came completely undone, murmuring Regina's name over and over again as she slowly came down from the skies they'd just ridden together.

* * *

Neither woman slept that night, and they were grateful they were in the middle of nowhere in the forest, their screams of ecstasy disturbing none but the crickets and owls, who didn't seem to mind, the lights of the lake gleaming and warming their sweat-glistening bodies the whole night through, intensifying each of the many times the lovers brought each other to the brink of consciousness with the power of yet another orgasm.

They dozed, finally, as the sun began to creep out, the magnificent reds and oranges of the sunrise wafting through the trees on the horizon. Their bodies were entangled, Regina wrapped up in Emma's arms, one of which was serving as her pillow, her own arms wrapped protectively around the blonde's waist. She knew the magic of the lake would protect them - had protected them all night - from any unwanted onlookers or intruders, and, kissing Emma's temples gently and telling her sleepy form, again, that she loved her, she let herself sleep, happier than she had ever been.


	15. Chapter 15

**Thank you so, so, so much for your sweet and generous reviews, especially of the previous chapter! **

**This will be the penultimate chapter of Operation Phoenix: one more after this and that'll be all! **

**This chapter takes the story in quite a different direction, and I hope you approve! And don't worry, you'll find out eventually what gift Ruby got Emma ;)**

**Reviews spread love, and Swan Queen is love, so... yeah! ;) Thank you for reading!**

* * *

As the chattering and sing-songing of morning birds filled the clearing around them, a soft, silky breeze caressed the sleeping, intertwined women. Regina sighed contentedly into wakefulness, tilting her head back to stare for many long, happy moments at Emma's resting face - perfectly at peace, a small smile gracing her thoroughly kissed lips - and eventually to look incredulously over her naked form.

Lost in her almost reverent gazing, she didn't notice the blonde's eyes blink open. Her voice was so groggy and helplessly adorable that, despite its unexpectedness, didn't startle Regina out of her restful peace.

"You checkin' me out, 'Gina?" the blonde mumbled happily, somehow pulling Regina closer to her and stretching at the same time.

"Good morning to you, too, Sleeping Beauty," Regina greeted sweetly, wondering vaguely if Daniel would be happy to know that her voice had opened up in ways it hadn't been open in decades.

Emma closed her eyes and shook her head happily. "Mmmm, nope. I've met her, and she's definitely not me."

Regina chuckled affectionately, soothing hair out of Emma's face. "No one could _ever_ be you, my love," she agreed, kissing her temple.

Emma roused slightly.

"Uh, Regina?"

"Mmm?" the brunette prompted, too busy kissing every part of Emma's face she could reach to answer with words.

"We're naked."

"Mmhmmm." Regina's lips curved into a smile as she let Emma work herself up a little bit.

"In the middle of the _forest_."

"Mmmhmmmm."

"_Regina_," Emma whined slightly, now positively squirming.

The Queen took pity on the Savior, and relented, explaining: "The lake's magic is shielding our presence from unwanted outsiders," her smile broadening deeply as she spoke.

"_Oh_," the blonde said simply in realization, pulling back slightly to meet Regina's eyes. "In that case... How do you feel about morning sex?"

Regina's eyes immediately darkened with desire. "Why don't you find out, Sheriff?" she invited lasciviously.

"I think I might," Emma murmured into Regina's mouth, rolling her over so the older woman was pinned underneath her. Regina groaned into their kiss, hands running everywhere on Emma's body. She felt the scratches she'd made on her back the previous night and froze.

Emma lifted herself up on one hand. "You okay?" she asked, her voice full of concern. "Did I hurt you, baby?" She made to roll off of her, but Regina clung to keep her there.

"I can feel the scratches on your back," the Queen told her tremulously.

Emma laughed softly, with relief and immense affection. "I'm pretty sure I gave you some of those, too, baby," she offered lightly.

Regina knew she had, but that was hardly the point. "I don't want to hurt you," she breathed.

Emma kissed her eyelids softly. "You didn't." Regina arched a skeptical eyebrow. "Okay, you did, but you only did what I _wanted_. What I asked you for."

"I don't recall you asking me to maul you," Regina deadpanned, and Emma remembered that she wasn't only sleeping with Regina Mills, but with _Mayor_ Mills, as well. She decided against being intimidated.

"Baby, I loved it. I loved everything about last night. If you ever start to do anything I'm not okay with, I promise I'll tell you, just like you'd tell me - or just kick my ass." She was looking for a laugh, and she got one. She kissed Regina's nose. "Okay?"

Regina smiled, much calmer, her hands drifting down to Emma's ass. "I believe you were interested in my thoughts on morning sex," she flirted.

"_Very _interested, Madam Mayor," Emma teased.

And suddenly Regina was on top - how she'd flipped her, Emma was at a loss to figure out - and their kisses were scorching, searing through their very cores as Regina's hands swept across Emma's body feverishly. Emma gasped in pleased surprise as Regina bit down lightly on her lower lip before balancing up on both her hands, gazing down at Emma's naked form.

"Your body is even more perfect in full light," Regina told her, and Emma's heart soared: her eyes reciprocated the compliment to her lover, who looked down at her lips, smiling deeply.

"Fuck me," the younger woman whispered, reveling in the lust her question immediately sparked in Regina's still twinkling eyes.

"Gladly," the brunette agreed headily, fulfilling Emma's request right through three orgasms, catching the last one with her mouth and savoring every taste, texture, scent, movement, and sound that were so deeply Emma Swan. Though the lights from the lake were harder to see in daylight, their soft warmth enveloped the new lovers protectively with every new scream, lick, blissful shudder, wordless and worded declaration of love.

Emma reciprocated eagerly, leaving deep purple marks on the brunette's neck - "Mark me, Emma," she had breathed, and Emma wanted to do nothing if not to please - as she fucked her senseless, her juices dripping onto Emma's now thoroughly-fucked-on-coat, Regina grabbing Emma's wrist and pulling her deeper inside her as she felt herself on the cusp of ecstatic explosion, losing track of how many times she screamed the blonde's name into the soft morning air, lake illuminating the love in both of their eyes as they drew themselves maps to unlocking the other's deepest pleasures.

* * *

Sated for the time being, the women settled back into each other's arms, both marveling at the simultaneous absurdity and perfection of the entire situation: enemies turned lovers, making love for the first time laying all night next to an enchanted lake whose colors sang of their union.

Emma's head rested on Regina's breast as the brunette stroked her hair softly, a light smile gracing her lips.

"Do you accept?" she asked after several minutes of blissful silence.

"Mmm?" Emma asked, confused.

"The key to the mansion. Henry's adoption papers. I... I worried about being too forward, and I certainly don't want to pressure you, but I - "

"Yeah," Emma interrupted.

"I'm sorry?"

"_Yes_," Emma repeated emphatically, rolling over halfway so Regina could see her goofy grin. "It's a lot to figure out, but I'd love nothing more than to figure it out with you," she told her confidently.

"And that would have been your answer before the... before last night?" Regina was painfully uncertain and Emma found it endearing: the uncertain part, not the painful part.

"You mean before we had the best sex the universe has ever seen, complete with our own personal fireworks?" Emma winked cockily as she gestured toward the lake. Regina grimaced impatiently at her, but a smile underscored her expression.

"_Yes, _Regina Mills. I wanted everything with you _before_ the mind-blowing sex. I promise." Her eyes spoke the volumes of truth that she was trying so hard to inject into her voice.

"Worth the wait?" Regina asked in a whisper, hope dancing in her eyes.

"_You_ are worth _everything_," Emma told her, leaning down to press her lips on Regina's softly. Their lips and tongues embraced happily, slowly, peacefully, for moments that could have turned into years if a particularly loud bird hadn't cawed its morning greeting across the lake, making them both jump and giggle, Regina pressing her lips to Emma's forehead as she helped her stand up, both having agreed without words that it was time to go see what Henry was up to.

"'Gina," Emma said slowly, watching Regina as they passed last night's discarded clothes to each other and tugged them on, damp though they were with the morning dew. Regina, wriggling back into her miniskirt, looked up at the blonde expectantly.

"Thank you." Emma wasn't used to saying the words, but then again, she hadn't been used to 'I love you,' either, and now she wanted nothing more than to tell it to the brunette all day, all night, every day, every night.

"For the best sex the universe has ever seen, dear? Because I'm pretty sure that works both ways."

Emma blushed as she watched Regina's eyebrow cock as she smiled, amused, at her similarly half-dressed lover.

"For the best birthday ever. For everything."

Tears stung Regina's eyes suddenly. "Always," she whispered, moving forward to embrace Emma - their first real hug, she realized, and decided it should become a part of every day, every night, and all the in-between times of their lives - realizing also as she did so that she'd never said anything to anyone other than Daniel or Henry that she meant quite as much as all these things she was saying to Emma.

* * *

It was the feeling of morning dew on her back and drenched into her clothes that jolted Snow awake. She sat bolt upright, wild-eyed and shaking Charming to wake up.

He groaned sleepily, but his eyes opened readily when he saw the dim outline of her sitting up: noticing nothing of his surroundings except her, he embraced her softly, asking, "Snow, did you have another nightmare?" He didn't offer a candle, which had become quite a touchy subject for her lately, with good reason.

"Charming," Snow said simply, looking around them instead of at him.

He blinked. Hard. "_What_?" he asked, to no one in particular. Because finally, he'd noticed.

They weren't in their bedroom. They weren't on their couch. They weren't inside any room. And though Storybrooke had woods of its own, it didn't even feel like they were in Storybrooke at all.

Prince and Princess stared wide-eyed at each other. They were in the Enchanted Forest.

"Gramdma? Gramps?" a small voice called out, some distance away.

"_Henry!_" Snow called, not knowing to be relieved or alarmed that Henry seemed to be there, as well.

They heard him pattering quickly over to them, still in his pajamas, his face enlivened and unafraid.

"Are we in the Enchanted Forest? I've explored most of the woods around Storybrooke, and this doesn't look or feel the same."

His capacity to simply accept where they seemed to be brought a smile to Charming's face. "I have that feeling, too, kid. Question is, what the hell are we doing here?"

"Is it everyone?" Snow asked to no one in particular.

"I think so," Ruby's voice sounded from behind them. She was in nothing but a red silk slip, and looked confused but unafraid. "I can pick up most people's scents. And we're definitely in the Enchanted Forest." She took a deep breath through her nose, nodding as she did so. Suddenly, she stared at Henry intently.

"Kid," she said slowly. "Did your mom and Emma spend the night together last night?"

Henry's eyes widened, catching onto Ruby's drift. "I think they broke the last part of the Curse," he whispered incredulously.

* * *

"Emma," Regina said tensely, pausing in their trek to return to the car. "Something's different. Can't you feel it?" She thought she felt... but it _couldn't_ be... But the air tasted so_ different_. It was laden with magic. Not a stowaway brand of magic, like the one that had returned to Storybrooke. Magic that infiltrated every particle of air, resonated in every drop of water, reverberated in each silently moving breeze. Enchanted Forest magic.

Emma furrowed her brow and shook her head.

"Concentrate," Regina implored gently, taking both of Emma's hands into her own as the blonde closed her eyes obediently.

A sensation of falling backwards, falling upwards, free-wheeling towards the sky, cascaded through the younger woman as Regina's touch connected her more deeply to her magical abilities. Her eyes snapped open widely, meeting the sparkling in Regina's.

"We're in the Enchanted Forest," Emma breathed, unsure why she was so certain of this, but knew nonetheless that it was so.

Regina nodded, eyes widening as Emma's did the same.

"How did we not _notice_?" Emma asked incredulously. She took in Regina's devilishly arched eyebrow and almost bashfully realized the answer to her own question. _Best sex the universe has ever seen..._

"But how did we... it was so hard for Mary Margaret and I to get back to Storybrooke... How could we _be _here? Just like that?" Emma's thinking face melted Regina's insides, but now was not the time to smother her with the kisses she wanted to.

Regina thought deeply, remembering the lights of the lake last night and realizing what they'd done when their lips had touched. A golden, curse-breaking light, amidst all the lights, would probably have escaped their notice...

"I believe we're responsible for our transportation here," Regina said softly, waiting for comprehension to dawn on Emma's face.

_True Love is the only magic powerful enough to transcend realms._

_True Love breaks any Curse._

After a few seconds, it did.

"Damn, Regina, how many Curses am I gonna break?" Emma whistled humorously. "Are my kisses really that magical?" she asked, her eyes growing dark at the recent memory of just how magical a kisser the former mayor was.

"Indeed they are, dear." Regina's voice dripped with salacious affection, eyebrow slightly cocked and a smile tugging hard at the corners of her mouth. Emma licked her lips involuntarily. Curiosity momentarily distracted her from Regina's mouth.

"So I only half-broke the Curse when I woke up Henry?" Emma asked before interrupting herself, stomach plummeting, and asking, "Did everyone come over, or was it just us?"

Panic that she was separated from Henry again overtook the initial shock as Emma looked around them as though expecting to find her answer at arm's length. Regina stilled her fears.

"It would have affected everyone," she reassured.

"Exactly _what_ would have affected everyone, Regina?"

A voice that made both of their stomachs plummet reached the women's ears as Emma cringed deeply. If Regina was perturbed, she didn't let on. She turned to face Snow White - and the small cadre behind her, a wide-eyed Henry included - evenly.

Emma groaned inaudibly at the disoriented anger in Snow's face and the saucer-eyed shock on Charming's. Ruby and Henry seemed amused, however, and she thought they might have already caught on to what had happened. Her face reddened as she looked at Regina, whose eyes, she was surprised to find, were fixed firmly on her.

"Do you want me to be honest with her?" Regina's question shockingly lacked snark. Emma flushed.

"You sure?" Emma asked, knowing how sensitive a subject telling Snow anything about her love life must be for Regina.

"As sure as I am that I want to parent Henry with you," Regina said softly, sweetly, firmly. Emma melted as Regina continued, "My only regret is that we missed the opportunity to see the horror on her face if she'd discovered us a few minutes ago." Emma reddened again as she glanced over at the rest of her family, who clearly couldn't hear what Regina was saying, but seemed to have a faint idea.

"When you're done with your private conversation, I'd really love to know how we're all _here_," Snow chimed, faintly irritated.

"Go easy on her," Emma muttered to Regina as the Queen imperiously stepped closer to Snow and Charming, ruffling Henry's hair affectionately as she did so.

"Snow," she began royally, as though making a formal proclamation. Emma and Henry exchanged glances and fought down giggles. Ruby's eyes widened as she took in the marks on Regina's neck. She winked her approval at Emma.

"It seems that your daughter and I shockingly do share a commonality with you and your _dear_ prince." Regina nodded almost cordially to Charming, and Emma had to fight the urge to facepalm. "She and I, like you and Charming, share an unbreakable bond of True Love."

She paused on the edge of malevolent pleasure to let this sink in. She savored Snow's shocked silence and mouth opening and closing slightly, silently, before she began again.

"Because I have genuinely ended my quest for vengeance, I will spare you the sordid details - "

_You don't have to_ say_ anything_, Ruby thought amusedly. _The sordid details are written all over your neck._

" - but it seems that when your daughter and I..." Regina glanced at Henry, who was looking on excitedly, and she could tell he was swollen with pride in the success of Operation Phoenix. "... shall we say... _embraced_ our love for one another, it broke the final remnant of the Curse on Storybrooke, without our knowledge. It seems that this final breakage is what we needed to bring us back to our realm."

She rose her voice to a slightly louder clip to preempt David's rising question. "Rest assured, dears, now that we've all returned, it shouldn't be terribly difficult to jump between realms. Those who wish to remain, at least part time, in Storybrooke, should be able to do so with relative ease. And if Emma assists me, I should be able to summon up enough magic to form a protective barrier around the town, to keep away any unwanted visitors."

Silence reigned as everyone digested the new information. David was the first to speak.

"We all wondered why we didn't come right back here when Emma broke the Curse... I asked you about it. Did you know then, Regina?" He sounded more curious than accusatory.

"Did I know that Emma and I shared the bond of True Love?" Regina returned the question mildly, and David nodded, with more resolution than she'd have expected from him. "Not immediately. I knew after her touch sparked the magic that opened Jefferson's hat, but not before that. I didn't want to accept this, of course..."

"So, what you're saying is," Henry broke in victoriously, "that the Curse couldn't be fully broken until you had your happy ending. Because that's what the Curse was supposed to give you, right?" He smiled broadly as Regina bent down to meet his eyes levelly.

"Yes, Henry. You and Emma are my happiness." She stroked his cheek affectionately, still marveling at how he didn't even seem to want to flinch away from her touch, as he had spent so long doing.

Snow furrowed her brow. "She's my _daughter_, Regina."

The Queen's back tensed, and her eyes blazed as she straightened up and stepped into Snow's face, an anger burning there that Henry hadn't seen since they'd began Operation Phoenix. He made to interfere with the women's standoff, but Emma touched his shoulders lightly, mouthing _Trust her_ at him.

"And - knowing as surely you must by now that Emma and I share True Love - you would deny this happiness to her?" Regina's chin tilted upward as Snow's matched her action defiantly, and Charming was struck by how similar the women could be.

"If you hurt her, Regina, so help me, I will - "

"Will what? Blacken your own heart some more? Take from me more than you already have? Emma is more than capable of fighting her own battles, I assure you. As am I, Snow. You've taken one love from me, and you will _not_ have the other."

One tear fell from each of Snow's eyes as she blinked at the evident truth burning in Regina's words and in her eyes. She took a step backward, almost deferentially.

Regina smirked victoriously, evidently satisfied.

"Okaaay," Charming said, touching Snow's arm comfortingly as he stepped between the women. "So, next steps. We'll need to find everyone and explain the situation. Let's - "

"You're assuming you're in a position to issue orders, _David_," Regina chided him with almost more amusement than bite.

"And who are you suggesting _should_ be in charge, Regina?" Snow challenged, deliberately returning her mild tone.

Regina blinked at her as though it should be obvious as Ruby and Emma gaped back and forth between the former rulers, Snow and Regina threatening to light each other on fire with the intensity of their eyes alone.

Henry stepped softly in between them. "Guys. My moms just found their happiness. Can we not ruin everything by fighting over who should rule the kingdoms?"

Emma punched his shoulder lightly, supportively. "Yeah. What the kid said." Then, less comically, more softly. "_Regina_."

The older woman's eyes wrenched themselves away from Snow's as she heard Emma implore her to... _what, exactly?_

She looked at her new lover, nonplussed. "We can sort out kingdom shit later. I'm sure it'll be a weird process: not many _princesses_ are pretty much their parents' age," Emma said with deliberate lightness, mocking the word 'princess,' but with enough gravity to soothe Regina.

Regina blinked at Emma, years of Snow White's family wresting all control of her life from Regina's tightened, terrified fingers raging in her eyes. "Regina's a damn good leader, even if she never wanted to be a Queen," Emma continued, addressing her parents but keeping her eyes locked in her lovers. "Her instincts are incredible, and she took care of everyone in Storybrooke for a damn sight longer than you guys ever ruled a kingdom. Let's worry about politics later, but for now, we need to work together to make sure everyone made the transition safely."_  
_

"And we can't forget," a slightly abashed voice chimed in, Emma jumping wildly in search of where it came from. Henry caught her hand in his and pointed to a cricket hovering amongst them, a small umbrella in his hands, "that when Regina ruled your father's kingdom, Snow, she did bring an end to all wars and unnecessary hunting of animals."

Regina nodded her appreciation at Archie's reminder, though she had flinched when he'd mentioned Snow's father. Emma sought her hand, found it, and squeezed slightly, lovingly. Charming cast his eyes to the ground, filing away what he'd observed for a later time.

"Okay," he piped up, softer this time, less authoritative. "I don't think we'll argue against gathering everyone to explain the situation and make sure everyone's okay as our first priority. And then..." He shuffled his feet and glanced at Snow. "I really have no desire to rule George's kingdom. We defeated him before because we needed to, not because of a lust to rule. Regina, you and Emma could... I mean, she is a princess, after all..."

"_Our_ princess!" Snow objected softly.

"How about we do this later? After we, you know, get a change of clothes and stuff," Emma interjected, gesturing to her and Regina's dew-dampened clothes.

"Yeah, why are you guys still in yesterday's clothes, anyway?" Henry asked innocently.

Emma and Regina exchanged an amused glance. "If you'd like, Henry, we can explain it to you. Perhaps when your grandparents aren't around," Regina offered lightly, Emma nodding and grinning, bright red, behind her.

"You will _not_ explain to my grandson - "

"There's nothing wrong with people's bodies or with love, Snow, and you will _not_ decide what Emma and I choose to discuss with _our_ son." Regina's tone was final, and Snow snapped her jaw shut. Ruby giggled, and Snow elbowed her - hard - in the ribs.

* * *

Given that Ruby had wolf-senses, Archie in cricket-form could fly, Regina and Emma had magic, and Snow and Charming were... well... Snow and Charming, _finding_ everyone wasn't a problem, taking only several hours.

Emma, Snow, and Henry were particularly thrilled when they stumbled across Aurora and Mulan, Henry pleased to finally meet the woman he'd sort-of-met in such dire circumstances. Mulan was wary of Regina, but Emma's fierce trust in her seemed to stay her concerns, her hand leaving the hilt of her sword when she saw the way that Emma's fingers interlaced with Regina's and the way that Regina kissed the top of Henry's head out of sheer happiness to be with both he and his other mother.

* * *

Regina let Charming and Snow handle the speech-making and the negotiating, smirking silently when they explained to a shocked Storybrooke crowd that she and Emma had together broken the last remnant of the Curse. She thought she saw a glimmer of approval in Charming's eyes as he caught hers, standing alone with Emma and Henry, contentedly removed from the crowd.

Most people opted to split their time - once portals were created - between the Enchanted Forest and Storybrooke, particularly those for whom the Curse had brought physical transformations (like Archie, Gus, and Lucifer). Emma happily listened to Regina discussing her plans with Henry to see if the animals in Storybrooke's shelter would prefer to live there or in the Enchanted Forest, and she was glad when she saw Neal overcome with grieved relief to be back in his home with his father, embracing a stunned Rumpelstiltskin roughly.

A swooping sensation of all things lost and all things gained cascaded through Emma as she walked slowly away from Regina and Henry, collapsing under a tree and pondering what would happen with Ruby and Rumpel now that Belle seemed to have all her memories back, whether Regina would even _want_ to rule a kingdom after the utterly traumatic way she'd been thrust into the position before, and what the hell she herself could possibly _do_ in the Enchanted Forest.

In Storybrooke, she had been the Savior. And here, she was supposed to be some Princess. She shuddered, not noticing that Regina had sank down next to her, disregarding the risks to her miniskirt, as Henry ran off to get a tour of the nearby Forest from Hansel, Grace, and Gretel, clearly in his element. Both women chuckled as Charming ran after them, issuing warnings about ogres, not knowing that the children were headed for the protected lake by which the two had made love the previous night and that morning. _Was it only that morning?_

"He wants to stay, doesn't he?" Emma asked as Regina looped her fingers through the blonde's. The older woman nodded silently. "And this... this is your home. Are you okay being back here? Memories and everything?"

Regina smiled softly at the younger woman's sensitivity. She sighed, watching the people she'd cursed into a land without magic become reacquainted with the place she'd torn them from.

"It will require some adjustment," she admitted. "But I'm not averse to forming new memories." She glanced at Emma hopefully, and was reassured by her light smile. "Thank you for what you said to your parents earlier. Though I... I think I'd rather not rule anything anymore."

Emma nodded. "I figured, but since you were challenging Mary - Sn - my mom, I figured I should back you up. You really can't resist, can you?"

"Giving your mother a hard time? Never," Regina shrugged regally, and Emma found herself stunned that a gesture like a shrug even _could_ be regal. "I don't want to rule, but I don't want her to take the right to do so away from me. If I give someone else the kingdoms, I want it to by _my_ choice. Surely you can understand that?"

Emma nodded again, falling silent, her eyes on her mother.

"Tell me," Regina prompted simply. Emma started, surprised Regina could read her so well. Though she'd always known exactly how to get under her skin, so she supposed she shouldn't be shocked.

"I'm not leaving Henry. Or you. I never would. He belongs here, and I know you'll stay wherever he does. But Regina, I... I told you, I don't _want_ to be a princess." She turned her face to the brunette's, fearful tears illuminating the forests in her eyes.

"Then change what it _means_ to be a princess, my love," Regina whispered softly, chocolate eyes only for Emma. Knowing what the blonde was thinking, she cupped her cheeks with her hands. "I don't _like_ your parents, Emma. But I do _know_ them. And they will _never_ abandon you again. No matter what choices you make, and no matter whom you love."

A single tear leaked out of Emma's eyes. "You said _again_," she pointed out. Regina furrowed her brow. Emma continued, explaining. "You said they won't abandon me _again_. You _understand_," she said incredulously, awed and grateful that Regina had not only tacitly admitted that it wasn't her fault Emma had grown up alone, but also relieved beyond belief to hear someone - everyone else only had wonderful things to say about her parents - tell her that yes, they had abandoned her when she was a baby, but no, that didn't mean they'd do it again.

"I understand a lot about abandonment, Sheriff," Regina told her, barely audible, slipping into formal address because it was easier than the potentially re-traumatizing intimacy of the moment.

To her surprise, Emma's face broke into a grin. "Imagine being a sheriff here," she joked, her amusement plain, "I bet the ogres would _love_ me."

Regina smiled in return, leaning in to kiss the blonde soundly on the mouth, still in awe and ecstasy that she could kiss someone with so much love, so freely, again. "Well, they would certainly be attracted to your propensity to be extremely _loud_, Ms. Swan," she teased as her lips claimed Emma's.

"Ugh, save it for your castle or something," Grumpy called to them from a distance.

Their laughter rang out into the Enchanted Forest, and everyone in earshot stopped and stared in shock: none but Snow White - before Daniel's murder - had heard the Queen genuinely laugh... _ever_.

Ruby grinned, wishing her phone worked in the Enchanted Forest so she could text Henry to tell him just how perfectly Operation Phoenix had wrapped itself up.


	16. Chapter 16

**Okay, this is it, folks!**

**I've included in this chapter a request for a family holiday meal by LiesX; a request for a cute Henry-Hansel scene by Aladdin-Sane-X (in fact, I gave you two!); and a request by ** **kaylee214 to see Emma move in and to see what Ruby (and Belle) gave Emma for her birthday.**

**I hope you've enjoyed the ride and are alright with the conclusion! I have a few other pieces I'm working on by request now, so there will be more Swan Queen loving to come!**

**Reviews are love, and I love my readers, so... just sayin'! Enjoy!**

* * *

Emma had pouted deeply when Regina informed her, amusement in her voice, that - powerful sorceress she may be - she simply could do nothing to prevent the oncoming rainstorm. Emma didn't notice that Regina was holding Henry's hand soothingly as she teased her, and winked reassuringly at him. He cuddled into her midsection, and when she had wound the blonde up sufficiently, she took a deep breath, kissed Henry and stepped back from him, let her eyes flutter closed, and smiled slightly. The nearby trees creaked and blossoms jingled.

Emma and Henry watched, mouths agape, as Regina culled together a flawless shelter magicly, her arms outstretched and chin tilted upward as though welcoming the rain. When David objected that the newly-created temporary home looked great, but they could really spend the evening at her castle, Regina scoffed.

"Don't be ridiculous, dear; it's an entire day's journey away with horses, of which we have none, and would be an unnecessarily painful trip for your daughter's backside. I've created a perfectly adequate shelter, and for your daughter's sake, I haven't booby-trapped your room."

Snow entered the conversation disbelievingly. "You made David and I a room?" She looked at Regina as though seeing her for the first time.

"Don't look so surprised, dear: I imagine it will hardly be bearable to spend an entire stormy evening trapped in a cottage with you to begin with; I don't want to begin to fathom what agonies my family and I will have to endure it I didn't at least give you a space in which to contain yourselves. I wish to avoid getting tongue marks on my mirror, dear, don't you remember?"

It was Snow's turn to scoff as Emma glanced at Henry askance. David grimaced and shoved his hands deep into his pockets, mimicking Emma's actions unconsciously.

"Oh, _you_ want to talk to _us_ about tongue marks? _You_, whose tongue was halfway down my daughter's throat _in front of the entire kingdom_ only an hour ago?" Snow's voice squeaked, and Henry, Hansel, and Gretel giggled as David, Emma, and Michael tried very hard and very unsuccessfully to pretend they were invisible.

Regina, however, was unabashed. "And _your_ displays of affection are different in what ways, dear?"she deadpanned.

Thunder clapped loudly above, causing Henry to jump and take Hansel and Regina's hands; everyone else had retreated to their own forms of shelter ahead of the storm, after twenty-eight years still accustomed to living amongst the elements. But Snow, remembering all too well the animated grumbling Emma had done the night of the storm when they were stuck in the Enchanted Forest, had suggested they seek less leaky, less insect-y shelter. Regina had complied after toying with Emma gently, and Gretel had made a silent plea to her father to let their family stay with Henry's: they could all meet up with Grace and Jefferson after the storm, she'd reasoned quietly. Michael had glanced at Henry and Hansel nervously giggling together and instantly agreed.

Regina's eyes fell to the boys now and she smoothed both of their hair out of their faces. "Why don't we all head inside?" she invited, knowing all too well that Henry's thirst for adventure always was quenched by terribly loud thunder, the deepest reason she hadn't wanted to journey to the castle and risk getting caught in the storm. She didn't much relish going back there - it terrified her, in fact - so it worked well for everyone, really.

The cabin - formed of nearby trees and plants, similar to the dome Regina had made for the animal shelter in Storybrooke - was much bigger and more animated on the inside than Emma had expected it to be. Regina had magicked chairs, a couch, and four bedrooms surrounding a living room with a stone fire place.

Thornless vines spiraled around each loggy segment of the walls, and Emma found herself overcome by a powerful urge to pull Regina down onto the purple silken pillows she's magicked by the fireside and kiss her, make love to her, make her feel as beautiful as the places she was apparently so amazing at creating. Her urge was doused by Snow's rather louder-than-necessary throat-clearing and Charming's arched eyebrows, which clued Emma in to the realization that her fantasies were probably written all over her face.

"Later, dear," Regina whispered to her, none-too-softly, touching her waist lightly as she moved past her towards a little room Emma hadn't noticed before, with a smaller fireplace and several pots and pans. "Michael, Gretel, will you be dears and help me prepare something for dinner?" she called, deftly ignoring Snow and Charming, who were more-or-less begrudgingly admiring the immense beauty of the home Regina had created.

Rain began beating down outside, and Emma murmured, "I guess I'll go hand out with - " she started to amble off in the direction of a small bedroom Hansel and Henry had disappeared into, having noticed Henry's poor attempts to hide his nerves about the storm. Regina intervened.

"Emma, why don't you help me in here, too?" she asked pointedly, looking casually at the blonde, but with meaning. Emma glanced at the doorway, at Regina's knowing expression, and at Gretel's gleaming grin.

"_Oh_," she realized, almost tripping over a small root in her haste to leave the boys alone, "right." Gretel giggled and Michael sighed.

"Hansel could do a lot worse," he shrugged, leaning down to kiss Gretel's forehead as he took a paring knife from Regina and began slicing vegetables Emma couldn't identify.

The Queen touched Michael's shoulder gently, an old apology fresh on her face. "So could Henry," she told him softly, thinking of how her mother had scoffed at Regina wanting to run off with a mere stable boy, and Emma marveled at just how much being truly loved can change you. Or bring you back to who you always were to begin with.

* * *

"You're so brave, Henry. Why do storms scare you?" Hansel looked at the other boy carefully, hoping he wouldn't misinterpret his question and think he was saying it was babyish to be afraid of storms. Fortunately, Henry understood, and put his thinking face on. Hansel tried hard not to smile; he loved the way Henry's face pinched in slightly when he thought hard. It made him feel pleased in ways he hadn't felt for any one person before. He's been relieved when Gretel and Michael assured him it was only natural. He waited patiently for Henry's response.

"I guess it's because of the thunder. I don't mind rain - I like rain - but thunder is too loud and scary. When I was seven, a clap of thunder scared me so much that I fell out of my bed and broke my arm. Mom carried me all the way downstairs and to the car in the rain. She didn't even stop to put her shoes on. I remember her hair getting so soaked it dripped everywhere, but she didn't care. I'm pretty sure that's why she set up this cabin, so I wouldn't have to be out in the storm." He shrugged, nervous at his revelation. He'd never shared his fear of the dark with anyone except Regina and Archie before.

Hansel reached out to take Henry's hand gently. "It's not silly, Henry. Everyone's afraid of something."

"But I know I won't fall out of my bed again, so it doesn't make _sense_," the logical child persisted, head hung down in scared sadness.

"Feelings don't have to make sense," Hansel said softly. Henry smiled as he looked up. "That's what Mom used to tell me," he told him eagerly. Their eyes caught and Henry's breath hitched unexpectedly. He wondered vaguely if this was how his mom felt before she told Emma she loves her.

"So speaking of feelings... Hansel, uh..." Henry stammered slightly, wishing that this moment had brought him Regina's graceful eloquence instead of Emma's charming awkwardness. His heart hammered like a woodpecker in his chest, and a clap of thunder - though muted by Regina's protective spell around their shelter - tore across the sky. Hansel's eyes were soft and wide with nervous expectation. Henry swallowed, hard.

"I like you, Henry," Hansel whispered, sparing the slightly younger boy the nerves and in the process shocking himself utterly. _Gretel will be so proud!_

Henry's eyes flashed with hope. "Like me like we like Grace, or like me like..." He searched for a proper analogy.

"Like you like your mom likes Emma." Hansel breathed this out rapdily, almost too quietly for Henry to hear, and he bit his lip shyly.

Henry's face broke into a broad grin. "Cool! Me, too! Like you, I mean." Both children giggled softly as they looked away from each other. There was a question in Henry's eyes when Hansel met his again.

"Can I kiss you?" he verbalized his question. The only sound in the room was the far distant pang of rain and their thumping hearts. Hansel grinned nervously and nodded. He shifted closer to Henry on the bed they were sitting on, and reached out for Henry's hand. Henry tentatively brought Hansel's hand to his mouth and kissed it, gently, as he had seen Regina do to Emma a few hours ago when Emma had scraped it accidentally against a branch. Hansel flushed happily. Their eyes met at the boys leaned forward simultaneously, nervous and excited lips meeting lightly, lingering for a moment or two, and retreating, pleased.

Henry's face was as red as the turtleneck sweater both his moms seemed to have, and the boys' smiled banished all darkness from the room.

"Do you want to be my boyfriend?" Hansel asked in the characteristically tiny voice that Henry was growing to love so much.

Henry nodded joyfully, wondering how anything could ever feel as wonderful as having his moms happy and Hansel reciprocating his feelings.

The children giggled again, and as lightning flashed brightly outside, Henry wasn't in the least concerned, for the first time in years.

"Hey, my mom made me this really cool and huge cupcake with magic once," Henry told Hansel eagerly, knowing that Hansel would be pleased with his proposition. "Want to see if she'll make us one for desert?"

"Yeah!" Hansel exclaimed excitedly, both boys scrambling to their feet, interlocking their fingers, and racing out the door with laughter on their lips and songs in their eyes.

* * *

Emma nudged Regina gently in the ribs as the boys entered the kitchen, secret smiles shining on their faces. Regina smiled adoringly, first at Emma, then at the boys, and Snow stopped and stared, her amazement evident. She didn't speak except to compliment Regina's cooking and answer the children's excited questions about the castle for the rest of the evening, lost in dizzying reflection about how if she hadn't spilled the secret that so broke Regina's spirit, her daughter never would have found her True Love; how if she hadn't manipulated Regina into murdering her own mother, she and Emma may never have been brought to admit their love.

She jumped, then, when Regina called to her as she and Charming were retreating into their room for the evening, the children comfortably tucked away together and Michael settled next to their room.

"Snow White." Emma and Charming shared alarmed glances across the rivals' shoulders, wondering where Regina would go with this. "Sleep well," the Queen told Snow softly, their vengeful past, new present, and perhaps, one day, understanding future all mingling strongly in those two words. Snow nodded softly as she watched Regina turn, caress her daughter's face, take her hand, and walk into the opposite bedroom with her, shutting the door gently behind them.

* * *

"Moms? Do you have a minute?" Henry padded tentatively into the small kitchen space that Regina and Emma were cuddling in over two mugs of tea as the sun rose out the windows.

"_Moms_? What HBO show did you hear that one on, kid?" Emma teasing, chuckling at her own joke before realizing that two very Regina-esque glares were heading her way, one from the woman herself and one from their son. She pursed her lips and admitted defeat. "Uh, forget I said that. What's up, kid?"

Regina pulled a stool out for him to sit on and held the early-morning herbal tea she'd convinced Emma to try with her contemplatively.

"Hansel and Gretel and I talked a lot last night." His mothers nodded, Emma touching Regina's knee supportively under to small counter, judging accurately by Henry's seriousness that he had something life-changing to say.

"They said they were talking to a lot of the kids from school yesterday when we all first got here, and a lot of them want to split their time evenly between here and Storybrooke, because they mostly remember Storybrooke more now anyway. Both places are home. And now that they can cross the town line without losing their memories, it's a whole bigger world to explore. They were really excited when they heard I got to go on a plane to New York."

Both women tensed slightly at the mention of New York, and Regina linked her fingers through Emma's under the counter. Henry gamely pretended not to notice and continued.

"So even though I want to be a prince and stuff, I want to go where Hansel and the other kids go. I want to explore everything, learn everything, not just about one realm or the other. Would it be okay with you guys if we lived sometimes here and sometimes there?" He turned to Regina. "I know this is your home, Mom, and - "

"You and Emma are my home, Henry," Regina interrupted him, and Emma's eyes welled: she'd never been anyone's home before.

"You don't want to go back to ruling your... uh... queendom?"

His mothers smiled deeply as Emma ruffled Henry's hair. "You raised us a little feminist, 'Gina. Have I told you lately that I love you?" Regina smiled deeply, gratified, and kissed Emma's hand and Henry's cheek.

"To be honest, Henry, I truly don't. In another lifetime, perhaps. But the only thing I'm interested in ruling now is my own life." _For once_. "I can conceive of the three of us living in this place: that's why I put so much detail and nicety into it: it's close enough to the castle, to Hansel's cottage, to the town... enough space for horses... As you say, part time here, and part time there." Henry grinned.

"So when we get some portals up and running, we can go back to Storybrooke and Emma can still move into the mansion with us for the times we're there?"

Regina laughed joyfully at his excitement. "If that's what your mother wants, dear."

Emma sat back exaggeratedly and put her feet up on the counter. "Nah, I think I'd rather stay here without you two. I get along great with ogres, so..."

Henry and Regina's simultaneous giggle fit cut Emma off and brought Snow and Charming's sleep-filled faces peeking out of their bedroom.

"Is Regina... _giggling_?" Charming wanted to know. "Remind me never to imply that True Love doesn't do extremely _strange_ things to people."

"No. Not strange." Snow spoke as though from a distance. "Just..." she thought for a moment, remembering the bright-eyed teenaged she'd met all those years ago. "...healing." David kissed her temple gently as they retreated back into their bedroom before they could be noticed.

* * *

"Emma, you're a _princess_!" Snow was slightly indignant, but mostly fighting feelings of heartbreak, wanting nothing more than her daughter's happiness but guiltily wishing it was more in line with what she'd dreamed of.

"So whatever, I'll be a princess of Storybrooke and the cottage in the middle of the woods!" Emma tossed up her hands and her voice squeaked slightly.

Regina casually strutted into the room, having overheard - the walls in this damn castle did nothing if not carry sound - Emma break it to her parents that she, Henry, and Regina would be splitting their time between the Enchanted Forest and Storybrooke.

"You'll actually be a Queen, dear: you're the lover of a Queen, after all, so I quite think that - "

"Are you going to insert yourself into every conversation I have with my daughter from now on?" Snow sounded like she knew the answer already.

A wicked gleam flared into Regina's mocking eyes and smile.

"You know, Snow dear, I wasn't planning on it, but now that you mention it, it seems to be the most fabulous idea you've ever had."

"They're never gonna stop, are they?" Emma muttered, leaning her head in to where Henry was soundly beating David in chess: he'd been taught by Regina, after all, and anyway, Snow had changed into a low-cut white riding suit, which was efficient for many things, distracting her husband amongst them.

"Never."

"Nope!"

Emma sighed and returned Henry's sigh. David asked, "I'm not surprised you want to split your time, Emma. But... Regina really doesn't want to rule George's kingdom?"

Emma shook her head as Henry said, "Check," and David frowned at the board.

"No, which works for me, because neither do I. You might want to give the kingdom to Michael: that way Henry can marry a prince after all!"

"_Hey_!" Henry scowled, but he was clearly pleased. "We're just figuring out kissing and holding hands and stuff!" If Regina had been listening to their conversation, she would have noticed a distinctly _Operation Phoenix_ look in his eyes as he continued. "You and Mom worry about the marrying thing!"

Emma glanced at Regina, who was still sitting pretty and indulging in a verbal war with Snow, and lowered her voice drastically. "I don't think she'd want that, kid. Not everyone does, especially not if marriage has only ever been a trap or a huge heartbreak for you. Like it's been for your mom. But hey, Anton says he and Mulan have found what they need for the Blue Fairy to set up stable portals back to Storybrooke. So we'll be moving in together there soon enough. Which is... kind of like marriage, I guess, but without all the baggage."

Emma paused and regarded Henry thoughtfully for a moment before pressing on. "And by the way, kid, the more 'and stuff' you and Hansel do as you gert older, you know you can talk to your mom and me about it, right?"

Henry nodded absently, his tongue poking out slightly between his lips.

"Henry! Are you even listening to me?"

"Checkmate!" he declared victoriously as Regina glanced over proudly. "And yeah, I heard you, Emma." He turned toward Regina with a knowing look on his face that was at once exactly his age and so much older. "Mom, you should know that Emma's not asking you to marry her because she understands you so well, not because she's afraid of commitment or something."

"_Henry!_" was Regina's only awed response, but the pleasure at his insight, Emma's sensitivity, Snow's bewilderment, and Charming's trying to figure out how he'd lost the game made her eyes sparkle radiantly.

* * *

"Emma! Mom! Come on, put some clothes on and get up! Today's the big day!"

"Did our son just tell us to put on some clothes?" came a groggy voice that was trying to hide from the light that was blazing in through the window whose curtains Henry had just wrenched open.

"The solstice isn't until tonight, dear; there's no need to blind your other mother with the sudden light," Regina said mildly as she sat up, blanket just covering her breasts, beckoning her son to her and kissing him on the forehead, happier than she was letting on that he was so enthusaistically taking to one of the most widely celebrated holiday of the Enchanted Forest. Henry saw right through her evenness and kissed her cheek, causing tears to sting her eyes. Despite living in that cottage she magicked together on their first night together in the Enchanted Forest for a few weeks - visiting Snow's castle hesitantly so that Emma and Henry could spend time with them - Regina still refused to take his living with her and his affection for granted.

"Hey, you were sleeping, too," came the faux-grumpy voice from under the covers. Regina and Henry both pursed their lips and exchanged a conspiratorial glance. Without apparent warning, Henry leaped on top of the hidden blob of sleep that was his birth mother, tickling her for all he was worth, while Regina slid back fully under the covers herself to help Henry with the effort.

At Regina's touch, Emma's screams of tickled-hilarity threatened to become screams of quite a different nature, and she yanked the covers away from her face. "Alright, kid, out. I'm up and your mom and I'll be ready in an hour. No pestering until then, got it?"

Henry leaped off the bed, grinning and satisfied. "Okay! Hansel and I are having breakfast together anyway. I just wanted to make sure you were up. Is it okay if I ride Elphie out to Michael's cottage?"

"Have Anton go with you, will you, dear? He's been meaning to pick up some supplies for tonight's festivities from Michael, and I'd rather you not travel alone." Regina slapped Emma's hand away from her inner thigh as subtly as she could under the covers. Henry nodded quickly and sprinted out the door, slamming it carelessly behind him.

Regina looked down at Emma sternly. "We'll be ready in an _hour_, Ms. Swan? Really now, I wasn't under the impression that a few weeks in the Enchanted Forest had taken such a devastating toll on your endurance."

Emma grinned wickedly, locking Regina's wrists above her head as she flipped on top of her rapidly. "Just shut up and let me fuck you, _Your Majesty_." Regina moaned erotically as Emma scalded her mouth with kisses. She continued kissing her as she learned over to the ornate wicker drawer by their bedside and slid out the gift Ruby and Belle had given them for Emma's birthday. The note Ruby had given her with it fluttered to the floor:

_Happy birthday, Emma! We would have gotten Regina lingerie for your birthday, but I feel like anything she would actually wear is way out of our price range. So we got you the next best thing. Enjoy!_

Emma grinned wickedly at Regina as she leaned back so she could slip on the strap-on, glad that it had somehow come over when the Curse had broken: well, Regina _had _been able to take what she'd wanted when the Curse was made, so Emma had just contented herself with the understanding that it had worked in reverse, too.

Regina's hands ran up and down Emma's chiseled triceps in anticipation as the blonde teased her wet opening with the dildo, kissing her neck tantalizingly all the while. The younger woman shifted so that the length of the toy caressed Regina's clit, reveling in the shudders that overtook the older woman's entire body and the gratifying waves of heat that shot through her own body at their contact.

Glad Henry had gone to Hansel's, Regina let herself scream out rawly as Emma began to fuck her, devilishly slowly, making sure to pressure her clit as the dildo disappeared completely into the brunette's body. Coming into her faster and harder in response to Regina's quickened breathing, increased moaning, and hands bringing her ass down firm and more frequently, Emma forced herself to keep her eyes open, fixating her gaze on Regina's beautifully contorted face, watching the ripples of bliss build as their union became as rough Regina wanted and needed it to be. Regina's hands slid up Emma's body and came to rest on either side of her head, and she looked at Emma with meaning. Understanding, the former sheriff shifted her hands so that they came down on the former mayor's wrists, continuing to push deeply inside of her as she did so.

"_Em-ma_," was the only thing the brunette could murmur as heat overtook her entire being. Emma leaned down to kiss the older woman as their simultaneous orgasms cascaded out into the still morning air, rocking through both of their bodies as Regina's coming undone threw Emma off of her own edge.

Minutes passed that felt at once like hours and like seconds before Emma stirred to slide off of Regina, her triceps beginning to shake, given that she'd been holding herself slightly above the older woman, not wanting to put her full weight down on her. Regina stopped her. "I'm not made of porcelain, dear. You can let your body rest on mine."

Though Regina was stroking her back sweetly, there was a lilt in her voice that Emma hadn't heard in a while. She relented, allowing more of her weight to fall to the brunette, but shifted so she could see her face. She kissed her chin and was alarmed to find the brunette's eyes years away.

"Regina? Baby, did I hurt you? Are you alright?"

The brunette smiled wearily at the concern in Emma's voice. "I'm fine, dear," she said with the weight of years of practiced finality.

"No, no, baby, don't do this, I hate it when you shut me out like this. Please." Emma wiped hair out of Regina's face softly and ran a hand down her naked body comfortingly.

Regina stared for a long moment into the blonde's eyes, and Emma refused to let herself be intimidated by the Queen's stare. She looked back evenly, refusing to let her love for the woman slip out of her gaze. Finding the reassurance she'd been seeking, the brunette relented.

"I'm nervous about tonight's festivities." Emma nodded.

"Me, too. Talk to me," she said, and Regina smiled at her earnest simplicity.

"I have many memories of solstice celebrations, Emma. Some have incredible components, but most are..." She looked away from Emma, and the younger woman kissed her temple softly, having shifted to lie flush next to the brunette, holding her in her strong arms.

"And now, the first time I'm celebrating it in almost thirty years - and it truly is quite a beautiful holiday, you know - I have you, and I have Henry, but I also have... _your parents_. And the entire kingdom, no longer my kingdom - not that I ever wanted it anyway - will be there to whisper about my loving the daughter of Snow and Charming, their Savior, their Princess... And in _that_ castle, Emma... so many of my worst memories are from that castle... I know you know what loneliness feels like, Em, and I can't help but feel overwhelmed by it whenever we go there..."

She started as she felt a drop of wetness fall onto her soft shoulder: she looked at Emma with surprise, and found tears streaking down her face. "Why on earth are you crying?"

"Because I love you," Emma answered softly. "I hate when you're in pain. I'm sorry. Go ahead."

Regina shook her head slightly and wiped Emma's tears, drawing even closer to Emma's body, feeling her own cum slide across her leg, as Emma was still wearing their strap-on.

"I was done," she said softly.

Emma took a deep breath and let it out softly, stroking Regina's face tenderly.

"Part of me wishes I could take it all away from you, baby. But if I did, I wouldn't have the woman I love. I don't know if that's selfish..." She trailed off and began again. "I won't leave your side tonight, Regina. And soon, the portals will be ready, and we can spend time with my parents only in Storybrooke instead of going to their castle, if you want."

Regina shook her head. "I want you to be comfortable in the place you could have grown up in. And I want to share that with you..." She stared at the ceiling, and a smile creeped over her face. "Henry will look so handsome tonight." She shifted her gaze to Emma. "And so will you."

Emma grinned. "Yeah, 'Gina, I don't know if I'm gonna be able to keep it in my pants with those dresses you wear..."

Regina's smile broadened wickedly. "Who said you have to, dear?" She kissed her lips lightly.

"Thank you for understanding, Emma," she told her sincerely.

Emma nodded deeply. "Always," she said, kissing Regina's nose. "And Regina, if at any point you want or need to walk out, I don't care about the damn party: I will leave with you. Just say the word, or just leave, and I'll be holding your hand the entire time. Alright?"

"Alright," Regina agreed softly. "Come now. You told our son we'd only be an hour, and we have a lot to cook. I told your mother I'd bring baked apples."

Emma blinked.

"You're almost as gullible as your father is, dear," Regina teased happily as she scooted over Emma, kissing her as she walked, completely naked and proud of it, into the bathroom Emma had insisted she magic into the cottage.

* * *

Emma fidgeted at the foot of the carriage somewhat awkwardly, Michael by her side. Her looked sideways at her and grinned.

"Relax, Emma. You look amazing, and Regina will love it." She nodded gratefully, but impatiently.

"Emma," he said again, and she looked at him, surprised at his insistence. "If anyone cares that their princess is wearing their father's clothes instead of their mother's, Regina will take care of them." A smile danced in his eyes and she couldn't help but grin.

"Maybe that's what I'm nervous about," she joked. They laughed together as Henry and Hansel walked out of the cottage together, holding hands and looking adorably stunning in their dress suits, Enchanted Forest style.

"Oh, _Henry_," Emma breathed, loving Hansel but having eyes only for her son, a ruffled white shirt peaking out of his sharp blue jacket, his hair fixed just so. The sound of heels behind him made Emma start. Regina stepped out of the cottage, a radiant smile on her eyes, having already locked them onto Emma, holding Gretel's hand. A deep red dress flowed elegantly off of the woman's body like a pleasantly burning waterfall, the soft tops of her breasts pouring out of her silky, tight bodice. Emma was sure Gretel looked gorgeous, but couldn't tell. Kissing Henry's cheek, Emma walked forward and offered her arm to Regina.

"M'lady," she squeaked, and Regina smiled, uncharacteristically letting it go. She took her arm with grace and they all piled excitedly into the carriage, heading towards Snow's castle for the Solstice festival.

* * *

"You look beautiful, Emma," Snow told her whole-heartedly, holding both of Emma's hands in hers as she looked her up and down, happily taking in how splendid her daughter looked in one of her husband's ball outfits, specially tailored to fit on Emma's somewhat less broad shoulders. "And Regina, you look... flawless."

Regina's grip on Emma's inner elbow tightened imperceptibly, and the blonde subtly brought her hand up to cover Regina's.

"Thank you for keeping my old clothes, dear. I suppose you being the sentimental type has its occasional uses."

Snow smiled, knowing that was the best she was going to get from Regina, as Charming stepped forward to greet his daughter and her lover.

"Looks better on you than it ever did on me," he said glowingly to his daughter.

"That's a true statement," Regina murmured. Emma squeezed her hand and Charming raised his eyebrows at her, a small smile on his lips.

"Good evening to you, too, Your Majesty," he said courteously, bowing slightly at the waist. Regina inclined her head towards him, understanding flowing between them as Charming moved on to hug Henry and Hansel.

Snow motioned for Emma to join her. "Come sit down. Usually the Princess and Prince sit amongst the people on this night, but I've arranged it so that we're together, since this is our first celebration as a family," Snow explained to Emma as she smiled graciously at the various ball attendees. Emma nodded her head awkwardly at the people she knew. Regina squeezed her arm supportively, knowing Emma didn't like so many eyes on her. She hesitated, however, as Snow mentioned _family_.

The woman with the pixie cut noticed. "I meant you too, Regina. You're part of this family now."

The older woman's heart skipped a beat as Emma's eyes shined with tears.

"_Wow_," three enthusiastic young voices sounded as Henry, Hansel, and Gretel noticed the abundance of food - sweets and pastries competing smartly with the immensity of salads, vegetables, breads, and fruits of all kinds - on the nearby tables.

"Those are for the castle workers and the poorer farmers and workers from across the kingdom," Snow explained to them softly, guiding them on further to a table less stocked with food, but splendid nonetheless.

Regina raised her eyebrows at Snow, impressed. "I did learn _some_ things from you, Regina."

"I hope not only one night a year, Snow," Regina countered softly.

Snow shook her head. "Charming and I are constantly making sure enough food gets around. I was going to ask if you wanted to help with that..."

Regina nodded immediately, gratefully. The less people that grew up in the poverty her mother knew, the better.

"Emma," Ashley called, and Emma bent down to kiss her and Alexandria.

"Your uh... Your _Highness_," she greeted jokingly, and Ashley laughed merrily.

"I could say the same to you, _Princess_." She eyed Emma's attire approvingly. "You wear it well."

Emma smiled as Regina and Ashley nodded their greetings to each other, Regina bending to magic a toy into Alexandria's hands. Emma kissed Regina squarely on the mouth as they approached the table that Snow said was for their family.

Rumpelstiltskin and Neal were already seated there, Rumpel fidgeting awkwardly as the other attendees gave him a wide berth, uncomfortable sitting across from Ruby and Belle, but seeming satisfied with the presence of his son. Neal's jaw dropped as he saw Emma, but he shut it quickly as Regina's eyes fell on him.

Rumpel smirked as he saw Regina for the first time since the day the Curse broke. "Good to see you back in your old form, dearie," he intoned.

"And you, Rumpel," Regina greeted mildly, deliberately keeping her voice even towards the man who'd manipulated the death of Cora, mollified by the fact that he had joined Regina in mourning her.

Emma smiled softly at the success of the night so far, widening her eyes at Henry as the young prince settled himself between Regina and Hansel. Henry giggled and launched himself out of his seat and into her side for a hug.

Charming and Michael passed around food to everyone at their table while eagerly engaging Regina in a debate about the art of wood carving as she poured drinks for Gretel, Hansel, and Henry, and Emma made a platter for both she and her lover. Neal regaled Belle and Ruby with stories about Neverland while Rumpel listened intently, and Snow and Emma watched in awe as the children laughed together and Regina laughed genuinely at a quip David made.

Emma thought the evening could get no better when Regina stood as the meal ended, glancing out the enormous windows towards the sky and telling Snow, "it's time."

Henry and Emma furrowed their brows, not knowing what it was time for or what to expect, but they both held hands with Regina obediently as everyone filed excitedly outside, singing a song that Emma didn't know but that Henry recognized as a lullaby from his childhood.

_Days are shortened,_

_Darkness falls,_

_Winter has arrived, _

_And cold we do portend._

_But fear not, child;_

_Doubt not, stranger;_

_You are welcome here. _

_When you enter our sweet realm,_

_You've no need to fear._

_In this land of enchantment,_

_Lights will guide your way._

_And should you fall into dark_,

_Not knowing where to turn,_

_Solstice lights will guide you,_

_Ever will they burn._

Emma's eyes were too fixated on Regina's face, too fascinated with the tremor in her beautiful voice and the fierce tears burning in her shining eyes as she sang the simple children's solstice rhyme, to notice the lights that were growing in the sky above them. It wasn't until Henry nudged her from across Regina's body that Emma's eyes shifted up towards the sky, towards which everyone had been raising their voices in peaceful song.

_The lights!_ The lights that had risen above the lake the night Emma and Regina had broken the Curse rose above the trees, blazing brilliantly through the night sky.

Regina turned her shining face towards Emma. "Good Solstice, my love," she whispered.

Emma merely nodded in response, throat too constricted with powerful emotions to speak, as her parents walked over to embrace her and Henry. Regina stepped back slightly, but accepted gracefully David's gentle touch upon her shoulders and Snow's hand upon her arm.

When the next round of song arose, Emma murmured the lyrics after Regina and Henry, making the older woman's smile match perfectly with the brilliance of the night sky as she held the hands of the two people she loved more than anything in all the realms.

* * *

"Henry, darling, I have to make room for Emma's things: why don't you run down to the station with your grandparents to help Ruby situate herself?"

Henry brightly complied. It was almost three weeks after Emma and Regina had shattered the last remnants of the Curse, and it was their first time back in Storybrooke since the portal had been opened by the Blue Fairy and Anton. (Regina had categorically refused to help "that woman" unless she absolutely needed it; fortunately for all involved, she hadn't.)

After Regina and Emma did a thorough sweep of the town and the older woman had guided her younger lover through helping her cast a new spell on the town line to keep outsides just that - outsiders - Regina had dropped Emma off at Mary Margaret's to pick up her things.

Satisfied with the job she'd done clearing closet and drawer space for Emma, the brunette had been about to head over to the apartment to help Emma when she heard a loud thwack, an _"ow!"_ and a _"sorry!"_ downstairs. Regina sighed softly, a smile shaping the creases around her mouth. She thought, unbidden, of how deeply her mother would disapprove of the young woman who'd just let herself in downstairs, and blinked several times to clear away the tears. _Today will be a happy day._

"What did you do, Ms. Swan?" she teased as she descended the stairs, feeling particularly confident in the short blue dress (which Emma would undoubtedly find both impractical and irresistible) that she'd selected to mark move-in day.

Her heart stopped when she laid eyes on the younger woman, however. The causes of her near palpitation were many: frayed denim shorts that barely covered the blonde's ass, a simple, thin brown belt, and a white tank that didn't quite come all the way down her lover's midriff, ab and tricep muscles working with devastatingly sexy easy as the blonde stood with her foot in Regina's doorway, heaving the small group of boxes, one at a time, from the pile she'd made on the porch to a growing stack in the hallway. Emma looked up the stairwell at Regina, sweat shimmering hotly on her brow, and licked her lips, a cocky grin growing on her face.

"Nothing, I just... tripped a little," she muttered, quickly changing the subject as Regina descended. "I see we both dressed to impress today, huh?" she asked headily, eyes raking over Regina's form with an almost unbelievable but utterly sincere ix of reverence and raw hunger.

"You're assuming that you're impressing me, Ms. Swan," Regina seduced as she stepped off of the stairs and into Emma's space. Their breaths both hitched as Regina flicked her wrist lazily towards the door, rapidly bringing in the last of the boxes and snapping it shut.

"You look _beautiful_," Emma whispered appreciatively and Regina kissed her nose, eliminating any and all space between them.

"And you look like you belong here," Regina returned, her eyes drifting down to the blonde's mouth. "All those times we fought on that porch, all I wanted was for you to come in here and do this with me," she admitted softly. "At the time I dismissed it as nothing more than the absurdity of our tension and intensity of our hatred, but now I..."

"Want to make up for lost time?" Emma asked, understanding, as her fingers traced their way down Regina's spine to her generous ass.

Regina nodded vulnerably.

"I feel like I'm home with you," Emma whispered, her hands settling on Regina's waist.

"You are," the Queen breathed as the space between their lips ceased to exist. Emma moaned into their kiss as Regina's tongue mapped every contour of her mouth. The blonde found her wrists pinned pleasantly to the wall that Regina had rapidly backed her into, the older woman's hips moving against hers in ways that brought Emma close to her edge.

Regina paused their kiss for a moment to ask Emma with her eyes if she wanted her to fuck her. The older woman let out a breathy sigh of excited satisfaction when her lover let out a desperately ragged "_yeah_."

The brunette expertly unclasped the button and unzipped the princess' fly, sinking her hand down to tangle in Emma's curls, soaked with arousal, claiming the blonde's neck with their teeth as she slipped inside of her, beckoning forth the blonde's orgasm with the curve of her fingertips.

Circling her palm with just enough pressure on Emma's clit as the pulsations began deep inside her, Regina brought her lips to her lover's ear. "Cum for me, sweetheart," she whispered, and the blonde came undone, screaming her climax into the box-filled hallway and into Regina's excited and ecstatic heart.

Regina kissed her mouth sweetly as she pulled her through the slowly descending waves of her pleasure, her own lips curved into a contented smile. Their foreheads rested together as the blonde caught her breath. There was a mischievous sparkle in her eyes when she pulled her head back to look at her lover. "Can I reciprocate?" Emma asked breathily.

"I get _plenty_ from feeling you get so much pleasure, Em - "

"Oh, I know you do," the younger woman interrupted, fingers traipsing down to rest on Regina's ass. "But it would be such a shame to let all that wetness I know you've got goin' on right now go to waste, wouldn't it?"

She nipped at Regina's earlobe and, seeing her lover nod eagerly, slipped her hands just under her ass, lifting the former mayor in a single, swift motion, spinning her around and slamming her gently against te wall, legs open and wrapped around the blonde.

Breathless, Regina's pupils dilated wildly as she put her arms around Emma's shoulders for balance. Delighted to discover that Regina was wearing a particularly lacey thong - she'd noticed the lack of tights or stockings the moment she saw her - she looped her fingers around the material easily and, holding Regina up against the wall with one arm, slid deeply into her, her smile growing as each of Regina's exhales became punctuated by a heady half-scream. Emma happily ignored the slight burning in her wrist as she pumped her fingers in and out of her lover, thumb pressing into her clit in perfect rhythm with her fucking.

The moment she felt Regina nearing her edge, she caught her eyes and told her whole-heartedly, "You are my home, Regina." Tossed into the oblivion of ecstasy, Regina scratched Emma's shoulders deeply as she screamed her orgasm into the late afternoon, Emma swearing she had never seen anything quite so beautiful as this woman letting her watch her most intimate moments, which were characterized by the blonde's name passing through Regina's perfect lips over and over and over again after forming somewhere both in her chest and in between her powerful and powerfully trembling legs.

Emma slid out of her lover and brought her gently, slowly, carefully down from the wall only to scoop her close into her arms in the longest, most meaningful hug they'd shared yet.

"Welcome home," they whispered to each other simultaneously before helping each other bring Emma's boxes upstairs happily.

* * *

Outside, Henry and Hansel roamed the streets of Storybrooke hand-in-hand, watching silently as fairy tale characters became reacquainted with the place they'd lived with only the magic of their own lives for nearly three decades.

The boys jumped as they saw a large bird - golden, with long, elegant wings and a powerful neck - land softly in front of them, fixing its pitch black eyes serenely on them.

"Hello," Hansel said softly, stretching his hand out gently, slowly.

"Did you come through the portal with the rest of us?" Henry asked.

Suddenly the bird's body went rigid, its face inclined towards the sky, and it caught alight, blue flames engulfing its feathers.

The boys clung to each other in horror as they thought rapidly of any help they could offer. Before they could even formulate a proper thought, there was nothing but ashes in front of them.

Tears sprang to Henry's eyes as he fell to his knees in front of the ashes. Hansel, however, squatted next to him thoughtfully, staring expectantly at the hot dust.

"Henry, I think it's alright - look!"

Trusting his boyfriend, Henry squinted through his tears. A smile radiated from both of their faces as they saw a wriggling little bird, feathers covered in ash but still visibly golden, emerging, spluttering adorably, from the ashes.

"_A phoenix_," the children whispered together, happily.

As the little bird walked unsteadily into Hansel's hand and Henry took off his jacket to help carry it, the little prince hoped that his moms were actually just moving Emma in and not doing all that stuff that they'd told him he might want to do with Hansel in a couple of years. He was eager to show them the phoenix and have Regina make sure it was healthy, and they'd be much happier to be interrupted while moving than while making love.

He kissed Hansel's cheek happily as the two set off for 108 Mifflin Street, baby phoenix held carefully between them.

The sun shone brilliantly over what they refused to be an ending, but instead, their happy beginning.


End file.
